Twin Star Concerto
by FlyingBowl51
Summary: The untold story of Hina's years of effort to mend the broken relationship with Sayo. The rift begins to close as they have one thing in common: guitar. Twin Star Concerto series set in the same timeline as Daily Lives of Boppin 2-A.
1. Together Again at Last

**Chapter 1**

**Together Again at Last**

Hina Hikawa gazed at thousands of empty seats before her. It was total silence and the stage was dimly lit. The scene before the girl was the total opposite of what occurred a few hours back.

Hina turned around. Heavy musical instruments like drums, keyboards, and DJ decks were already moved from the set; leaving only sound systems and a bunch of cables. She picked up a guitar cable, plugged it to her aqua blue guitar, then turned on the amplifier.

The guitarist of Pastel✽Palettes sat on the edge of the stage. She played the riff of "Luminous Once Again" and hummed on its melody.

"Hina, are you there?"

Hina stopped her fingers and waved at the person who had just arrived at the scene. "Onee-chan! Let's play together!"

Sayo Hikawa appeared from behind the curtain. The older one of Hikawa twins had changed into a blouse and a pair of leggings. Two coats were on hand; one of which belonged to Hina. She was also carrying a guitar on her back.

"I've been looking for you everywhere," Sayo said while walking toward Hina. The long-haired girl looked around the dark arena in a frown. "What are you even doing here?"

Hina gave her sister a gleeful smile and continued playing. "I wanna perform on this stage forever~"

"Don't be silly, Hina," said Sayo as she pulled the sleeve of Hina's flannel shirt. She gave her a stern look. "It's time to go home."

"You know what; I've been dreaming to stand on the same stage with you for two years," Hina said. The girl reminisced the day when she pleaded with her parents to buy her a guitar, then took part in the band audition for Pastel✽Palettes. She grinned at Sayo, then added, "And today my dream finally came true! Our guitar medley was super duper boppin'!"

"That's—" Sayo said. Her glance was shifted elsewhere. "—Your dream, huh..."

Sayo went all statue-y; barely moved and even stopped blinking. Hina knew her sister's habit. Sayo usually did that whenever she was lost in thought.

"...who would've thought we'd work so well together?"

"Then, why don't we zap another song together next time?"

"Well… I must say, performing with you once in a while isn't so bad after all."

Hina let out a smug. "Onee-chan, you're blushing~" teased the younger twin.

"No, I'm not!" Sayo objected. It didn't help, as her cheeks became even redder instead.

Hina giggled. After all this time, her sister still tended to go awkward whenever she expressed her feelings to Hina. Still, their current relationship was way better than during their middle to early high school days.

"Oh, or we can jam right here, right now! It's gonna be whaaam!"

"We're going home. Period."

"Awww, you're no fun." Hina pouted. "C'mon, let's play for a lil' bit… I know you enjoyed our time jamming together. You were smiling during our performance."

"Me, smiling?" Sayo crossed her arms and looked away. "I believe you mistook me for Seta-san."

Hina giggled. "You do realize that you and Kaoru-kun don't have any teeny-weeny resemblance, right?"

Sayo rolled her eyes.

Hina lightly tapped the set's wooden floorings; signaling her sister to join in.

"Pretty please...?"

"...fine," Sayo sighed. "We're going to miss the last train if we keep arguing like this."

"Kokoro-chan offered to take us home, tho?"

"I turned down the offer. You've done enough trouble with your antics."

Sayo readied her guitar, then sat beside her younger sister. Hina quietly observed as the guitarist of Roselia did some soundcheck.

"Onee-chan, what song should we—"

Sayo suddenly went from sound check to performing an actual song. Hina opened her mouth in surprise when she recognized the melody Sayo was producing.

"Happy birthday, Hina."

"Eh?"

Sayo didn't make eye contact with the recipient of the song, as she gazed at the audiences' seats instead.

"Happy birthday, Hina..."

_What's going on?_

Sayo finally shifted her gaze and looked straight at Hina. Their identical green eyes met. She strummed the strings of her guitar at a slower tempo.

"Happy birthday, my dear sister…."

Hina was left speechless. They celebrated their eighteenth birthday just three days back, but still, she didn't expect Sayo to go singing a birthday song for her now.

"Happy birthday... to you."

Sayo smiled warmly as she finished the song.

_What do I do?! My heart isn't ready for this!_

"Thank you for always being there in these eighteen years and nine months, even during the years I drifted away—" Sayo paused. The smile had faded. Her jade-colored pair of eyes were filled with sadness now. "—And treat you awfully."

Hina didn't think she deserved that gratitude. It was natural for her to stay right by her sister's side. They were twins, after all. And she just loved her sister so much. Sayo Hikawa, the coolest person in the whole world.

And Sayo even counted the time when they were still inside their mother's womb...

Hina's vision went blurry. Her cheeks became wet due to tears flowing from her eyes.

"Hina, I—"

Hina wrapped her arms around Sayo. "Onee-chan, you meanie! Today's supposed to be a boppinly happy day, full of smiles!" she said between her sobs. "But… but you're making me all teary like this..."

Sayo returned the hug. "I'm sorry for ruining your day… and for being three days late," she replied. "I just can't bring myself to express this in front of the others."

Hina could imagine Sayo being all flustered again, with her blush and all.

"You stupid sister of mine...! This is the best moment of all!"


	2. The Beginnner Takes the Stage

**Chapter 2**

**The Beginner Takes the Stage**

"Moooom, I'm going now!" Hina exclaimed as she passed the kitchen of her home.

"Take care, Hina!" replied a blonde-haired woman who was in the middle of whisking pudding ingredients. A sweet, fruity, scent filled the room.

"Strawberry pudding…!" Hina gleefully said. The girl immediately made a plan in her head to eat the dessert right after she went home later. But first thing first… "How do I look, Mom?"

Hina wore a two-tone blue jacket with starry patterns over a printed t-shirt, combined with a black frilly skirt. She also donned several accessories: a star-shaped barrette, choker with a star pendant, as well as black leather belt. She planned to wear suede boots for her footwear, but that was for later (her mother would scold her if she wore shoes inside the house).

Her mother smiled as her pair of green eyes observed Hina's outfit of the day. "You look super-duper boppin'!"

"Thanks, Mom!" Hina said as she hugged her mother from behind. Her next words were uttered in a whisper, "Wish me good luck for the audition~"

Hina then walked through the room. The kitchen, dining room, as well as the living room, were connected. Sitting on the sofa while reading a magazine was Sayo, her older sister.

Sayo and Hina were identical twins. Like most twins, during their toddler and elementary years, they sported the same look and wore matching clothes. They began to differ as the two grew into their teens. Hina currently was five centimeters shorter than her older twin. Their hairstyles were also different; Sayo's was loose over her waist, while Hina's was shoulder-length with sections of her sides were put into two little braids.

Hina put on a knitted beanie and said, "I'm going out, Onee-chan."

Sayo nodded absently. Her eyes were still focused on the music magazine.

The smile on Hina's face faded. Her sister was being cold to her, just like yesterday and many days before. Sayo's unknown vexation to her had been going on for so long, that it currently became a "same as always" phrase. It was ironic for Hina to admit this as a normal exchange between sisters; twins at that.

Yet, it was a reality.

A reality that she intended to change.

"Bye then, Onee-chan…"

Hina wore a glum face. This wasn't a good mood to start this important day. But as the girl turned around, she could hear her sister's voice.

"Don't stay out too late, Hina."

And that short sentence was enough to fill her heart with joy.

**»↠ ≈ ≈ ↞«**

The building stood before Hina was larger than she had expected. It was four to five stories high and looked spacious from the outside. Several cars of various types were parked in front of the building. It was the headquarters of a certain talent agency.

Hina didn't come empty-handed. She carried an electric guitar on her back; nicely put into a black gig bag. Although she just owned it for a short time, the guitar had been a part of her daily life now. Every day after school was practice time.

The girl gripped the shoulder straps of her gig bag. She gazed at the building with determination. Entering this talent agency would be her first step to chase Sayo's back. Their relationship might change for the better if they had something in common. Hina and Sayo could jam and talk about music together.

_Onee-chan should've loved the idea... right?_

Hina shook her head. No; this wasn't the time to have doubts. She must nail the band audition.

The high school girl then entered the building. Eight sets of armchairs and coffee tables were placed in the lobby. Most of the seats were occupied; some by girls of Hina's age who bought guitar gig bags—fellow band audition participants, she guessed.

Hina asked about the band audition at the reception desk, then went to the second floor. The girl still had some time before the audition started, so she decided to have a tour around the place.

Bummer.

Hina looked at the glass door before her. It was the type that must be unlocked with an access card; something that a mere auditioner like herself didn't possess.

Thought she might run into celebrities. Not that she intended to ask for an autograph; she was just curious about them. Were they as boppin' as seen on TV?

The hallway was empty. No one was in sight. Whoever worked on this floor must've done their activities behind the closed door.

The only thing there—apart from the locked door and restrooms—were dozens of posters and a few standees.

"Wow, so these are the celebrities who belong in this agency…"

Hina recognized some celebrities there. One of them being an actress of Hina's age, who she knew from TV dramas that her mother frequently watched. She looked at the displays for a little while more then went to the restroom.

A cute voice was heard as Hina opened the door.

"The pretty pink charm—"

A twin-tailed girl was posing in front of a mirror. She was waving her gun fingers and exclaimed, "—Aya Maruyama enters the stage!"

Hina burst out laughing when the pink-haired girl named Aya Maruyama finished the pose with her body slightly bent to the side, accompanied by a wink. Realizing Hina's presence, the girl turned around and jumped backward in surprise; nearly bumped into the marble sink behind her. She then covered her beet-red face and muttered inaudibly.

"Hey, hey, whatcha doin' there?" Hina asked as she approached the pretty pink charm. "Was that some kind of mantra?"

"No… I… I..." Aya Maruyama whimpered. She then ran past Hina and said, "AAAA, I'm so embarrassed…!"

"Eh, where are you going?"

But the girl had escaped the room. As the door closed, Hina could hear the girl shouting, "Mom, forgive your daughter for being so stupid!"

Hina put her hands on her hip. She smiled confusedly. "Welp, that was weird."

»↠ ≈ ≈ ↞«

"I've been playing for ten years."

"Wow, you must have some serious skills!"

Hina and her fellow auditioners were talking around while waiting for their turns. They chatted about music technical kinds of stuff, which sounded otherworldly due to her being a beginner. Still, it was good to learn something new, so she eagerly listened as she was snacking on Pocky.

"How about you, Hikawa-san?"

"Mm?" Hina stopped biting her Pocky. She put out the chocolate-coated biscuit and answered, "Prolly two weeks?"

The girls were startled. Their eyes widened. "...no way!"

"You're a total noob?" asked one of the girls with a frown. "Are you even able to play 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star', Hikawa-san?"

Hina nodded. She raised her half-bitten Pocky stick and exclaimed with confidence. "You bet I can; along with 'Baby Shark' and 'Mary had a Little Lamb'!"

The ten-year-veteran scoffed. "Don't waste the judges' time with your half-baked performance."

Hina was puzzled. The announcement only stated about the agency's need for a female high-schooler guitarist; no mention about the length of experience whatsoever.

"I plan to give my all, tho?" Hina replied. She wondered why this girl didn't take her seriously.

The fellow auditioner glared at Hina. "You'd better go home before they're throwing mean comments to you."

"I wanna join the band!" Hina's green eyes sparkled with excitement. "I gotta catch up with my sister, you see!" she added with a grin.

The experienced guitarist muttered inaudibly, then said, "Don't get ahead of yourself—"

"Number 958!"

"Oh, that's me!" Hina exclaimed. She got up from her seat and waved at the fellow guitarists. "Wish me luck, guys!"

The audition room was, in fact, a small auditorium. Three people were sitting in the front row. A long table was placed in front of them, with papers full of notes.

Hina politely greeted the judges. They returned the greeting, then asked Hina to take a position on the stage and introduce herself.

"My name is Hina Hikawa, fifteen—nope, tomorrow I'm gonna turn sixteen! I love sweets and fries!" said Hina. "And I go to Haneoka High!"

"Haneoka the prep school?"

Hina nodded. "Yup, the boppin' Haneoka! We have a zappin' uniform and our annual festival is whaam!"

"Boppin', zappin', whaam...?" asked one of the judges, confused. "Some kind of slang words?"

The other judge smiled helplessly and replied, "I have no idea as well."

The third judge shrugged. "Didn't expect to see someone from there in a band audition. And you don't strike me as a bookworm..."

"Eh, bookworm?" Hina pointed at herself.

What would make people think that Haneoka is full of bookworms and didn't play music? Her juniors even had quite a name in the indie band scene. Was it because of the "prep school" label thingy? But Hina didn't have the chance to explain, as the judges asked her to begin the performance. So, she connected her guitar to an amplifier instead.

Hina strummed the strings of her guitar into a playful tone, which made the judges baffled. One of them even went as far as facepalming.

Time to spice things up, then.

Hina changed the chord and proceeded to another song. The guitarist went from one song after another without stopping. Her right hand strummed the strings upwards and downwards, while her left danced around the chords.

Playing various songs with different beats was fun. And to add that this was the first time she performed in front of strangers, just like a professional musician on the stage…

It made her heart thrilled with excitement. Hina wondered if this was the reason why her sister was so absorbed with the guitar.

Hina ended her performance with a final downstroke. The girl turned her attention to the judges and bowed to them.

"What was that?! You don't jump from 'Baby Shark' to 'Bohemian Rhapsody'!" one of the judges exclaimed. "And there was that Disney crab song and Mario's theme right before 'Canon' rock. That was a... way too wild ride…."

"Speaking of it, I love the smooth transition between 'Canon' and 'Jurassic Park Theme'."

"Thankies!"

Of course, Hina hoped for positive comments from the judges. But still, to receive that compliment for real made her over the moon.

"Seems like you're just mashing your favorite songs together, huh? The mood was all over the place and your tempo was too fast in many parts."

_Uh-oh, there's one not-so-good feedback…._

Hina rubbed the back of her head. That wasn't good. The other judges seemed to like Hina's performance, but not with this one. Her chance of passing the audition might be dropped significantly due to this criticism. It made her kind of worried.

"So… That wasn't boppin?" Hina asked.

"I don't understand what's that supposed to mean, but... Despite the faults, I must admit that your performance was very entertaining."

_That was surprising._

"By the way, can you sing while playing the guitar?"

"Of course—"

The high-schooler immediately froze.

_Crap._

Hina gave that answer out of reflex. In fact, she never tried singing and playing guitar at the same time. The girl put herself in a bad, bad, situation here….

_Are you even able to play 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star', Hikawa-san?_

The question from a few minutes back suddenly popped out in Hina's head. This gave her an idea. 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' was super easy to play; she should be able to sing along to it.

Thus, Hina strummed the strings of her guitar once more and sang: "Twinkle, twinkle, little star… How I wonder what you are!"


	3. When We Drift Apart

**Chapter 3**

**When We Drift Apart**

* * *

Hina tiptoed down the hallway that led to the bedrooms. The girl held her breath as she walked past her sister's room. A faint guitar sound could be heard from that room. She prayed that Sayo wouldn't suddenly come out and caught her carrying a guitar gig bag around.

When the doorknob of her own room was within reach, she opened the door and closed it as fast as she could.

The younger Hikawa twins let out a sigh of relief. Operation smuggling Hina Hikawa's guitar was accomplished. She intended to keep the guitar stuff a secret as a surprise; at least until she finally joined a band, just like Sayo did.

The high-schooler turned on the lights, then opened her wardrobe. She hid the gig bag between winter coats and parkas. That should do. Good thing Sayo wasn't the type to fiddle with other people's belongings, let alone borrowing coats.

Hina then went to Sayo's room. After a long day at the audition, she just wanted to see her twin.

"I'm home, Onee-chan!"

Sayo was speaking with someone on the phone. The long-haired girl glanced at Hina and said something to the person over the phone. "Sorry, it's just my little sister, yelling around like a kid. What? You're canceling the rehearsal?" She clicked her tongue and continued, "...Fine, go watch that movie, then. Okay, bye."

Sayo ended the call and turned to Hina. "How many times should I remind you to knock?"

Hina smiled awkwardly. "I kinda forgot. Sorry..." She then asked, "You okay, Onee-chan? You were talking about canceled rehearsal or something."

"Seems like I'm the only one who's serious about the band." Sayo crossed her arms and looked away. She let out a sigh. "Why am I talking about this with you? ...When it's none of your business."

"Oof, okay."

Hina averted her gaze as well. She happened to lay eyes on Sayo's navy blue guitar, which was laid on the bed. Her older sister practiced diligently as usual. Yet she kind of wondered why Sayo had to spend so much time with it, often strumming the same phrase over and over. As far as she heard, Sayo's playing was great already. So, why? Hina herself practiced a lot too during these two weeks, but it was due to her being a total newbie. Sayo, meanwhile, had picked up the instrument since middle school.

"So, what do you want, Hina?"

"Huh?"

Sayo frowned. "You just randomly entered my room with no reason?"

"We're gonna turn sixteen at midnight! Let's kill time by binge-watching your favorite dog show!" was what Hina would like to say, but her sister seemed so irritated right now.

Hina shook her head. "Nuh-uh. I just want to say hi."

The little sister then left the room in silence. Hina, once again, showed up at the wrong time. Their rhythm as twins got worse and worse as the years passed.

Sayo used to be boppin' and cherished Hina a lot. Now her big sister became all-serious and (almost) always grumpy whenever Hina talked to her. She realized that the problem was her, but didn't know what triggered Sayo. Her twin refused to speak up, while Hina was no mind reader.

_It was so frustrating when you didn't know anything…._

Now Hina really needed sweets to brighten her mood. Time to grab the strawberry pudding her mother made this morning.

The girl went downstairs and spotted Mom who was watching TV in the living room. Hina sat beside the older woman. She told Mom about the audition; how the judges were impressed by her performance, as well as the criticism expressed by one of them. Mom, in return, gave Hina a pat on the head and encouraged her.

"Welp, fingers crossed while waiting for my result."

Hina then walked to the kitchen. As she opened the refrigerator, a luxury-looking box immediately caught her attention. The teal-haired girl put the box out and peeked on its content.

"Mom~ There's a cake in the fridge!"

"Cake?"

"Yup! It's all colorful like that Little Pony's tail. And there's 'Happy Birthday Sayo & Hina' written on the cake..."

Mom immediately stood up with a panicked look on her face. "Forget you saw the cake!"

"But I can't unsee things…" said Hina. She closed the lid and continued, "Whoever bought it, tho? Either Onee-chan or I can accidentally find the cake if we're looking for desserts and such."

The mother of two sighed. "It's your dad… He bought an ice cream cake because the cake shop recommended it."

Speaking of Dad, he was nowhere in sight. Usually, it was he who was watching TV this time around. Mom then informed Hina that he was out buying some party supplies.

"Please act surprised for your dad later, okay?"

"WHOAAA, WHAT A BOPPIN' CAKE!" Hina gasped and opened her mouth so wide that it could chew a Big Mac all the way from the top until the bottom bun. She then returned to her normal expression. "Like that?"

Mom giggled. "That's overdramatic, but yes, please cooperate."

»↠ ≈ ≈ ↞«

Hina spent the rest of March 19th night inside her bedroom. She watched random videos while laying on the bed, and that eventually made her fall asleep.

"_Onee-chan… It hurts!"_

_Tears flowed from Hina's eyes. The five-year-old sat helplessly on the park's walkway. Her right knee was scratched and it bled a little._

_A girl, whose appearance was identical to hers, came out running; a handkerchief in hand. Sayo stumbled and almost fell like Hina, making the younger twin gasp in panic, but she managed to balance herself. As the big sister reached Hina, she joined her to sit on the brick walkway._

_Sayo blew Hina's knee and repeatedly mumbled: "Pain, go away". She then wiped the wound with a wet handkerchief._

"_Oww…" Hina said weakly. She wiped the tears with the back of her hand._

"_You made me scared when you fell, Hina," Sayo said. Her green eyes, which looked slightly reddish due to the sunset sky, gazed at Hina with affection. "Told ya. You're gonna fall if you run too fast."_

"_But I don't wanna miss today's episode," replied Hina. "The rangers were beaten by that pancake monster yesterday. I wanna cheer 'em to fight back."_

_Sayo shrugged and glanced at a clock near the slides. "There are still fifteen minutes 'till the show," the little girl informed as she crouched. "Hop on. I'll carry you home."_

_Hina hugged her big sister from behind. Sayo held Hina's leg and got up. She managed to walk a few steps before eventually stopping. The girl bent her legs and her body trembled._

"_You're too heavy...!" Sayo turned her head and pouted at Hina. "That's what you get for eating my cake!"_

"_Wha—? And you ate my chocolate!" Hina protested. She pinched her sister's cheeks to vent her irritation._

"_Daz for making me eat ya cawwot!" replied Sayo. Her speech became a little unclear due to Hina's pinch._

_To make Sayo eat Hina's despised carrots were kind of bending the truth. She never begged Sayo to eat her share. Her sister was the one who voluntarily did it to prevent Hina from being scolded by their mom. Sayo didn't manage to finish hers in return, so she was the one who got scolded instead._

_Several adults who were walking their dogs giggled at Hina and Sayo. They commented on how adorable the twin sisters' fight was._

_Sayo crouched and immediately ordered, "G-get off, Hina! You embarrassed us!"_

"_Eh?" said Hina while getting off her sister's back. "You're the one that offered to carry me and started the fight." She frowned._

"_Hmph!" Sayo exclaimed; her cheeks reddened. She later turned to the dog-walking group and ran to them. "Aunties, uncles, grannies! May I pet the cute doggies?"_

"_Onee-chan, what about me?!"_

_Hina chased her sister. But as the little girl tried to run, she fell and let out a muffled shout. She fell again, for the second time that day. Soon enough, her cheeks were soaked with tears. She sobbed hard and called for her big sister's name._

_Sayo immediately turned around, forgetting the cute dogs. She ran toward Hina and cuddled her._

"_Don't cry, Hina," whispered Sayo as she patted Hina's head. "Onee-chan's here."_

"Hina!"

Someone was calling and shaking Hina gently. She opened her eyes and saw a blurry figure.

"Onee-chan…?"

"Hina! Wake up."

It was someone else's voice. Hina closed her eyes again and turned her body in the opposite direction. "Five more minutes, Mom…"

"It's twelve."

"Twelve midnight…?" Hina replied. There was no sunlight coming through the window when she briefly opened her eyes before. "Still have seven or eight hours of sleep.…"

"It's one past twelve now," Mom announced. She went silent for a moment before continuing, "Hina-chan, what day is it?"

Hina yawned. "Yesterday was Sunday, so it's Monday… I don't attend a midnight school," she said. "And today is the Spring Equinox. Even ghosts aren't supposed to attend the ghost school on a public holiday..."

Hina then realized something. She got up at once and shouted, "It's March 20th! Cake! Midnight sweets!"

The mother of two chuckled. "Yeah, yeah. Don't you go midnight-snacking too often." She then walked to the door and said, "Now let's go to Sayo-chan's room."


	4. Joint Birthday is a Thing of the Past

**Chapter 4**

**Joint Birthday is a Thing of the Past**

* * *

When Hina and Mom entered the room, Sayo was fiddling with her laptop. Her face looked all-serious in front of the screen but not with her pose, as she was holding a dog plushie on her lap. It was her favorite, given when she was still in the kindergarten (despite its age, the plushie was still in good condition).

Sayo turned her head and said, "Hi, Mom. Haven't slept yet?"

Sayo didn't even address Hina. Bummer.

"I could ask you the same."

Hina followed right behind as Mom approached Sayo. The laptop screen showed an image of some sort of floor plan with a LINE chat window beside it.

"What are you up to?" Mom asked.

Sayo returned her focus to the screen. "Mm, just student council work for the entrance ceremony. Our current talk is kinda out of topic though," the long-haired girl answered as she continued typing.

Hina peeked at her sister's messages. Sayo was chatting with at least four people. One of them asked whether Sayo preferred corgi or pomeranian; followed by another person who mentioned some not-so-cute-looking dog breeds like Pitbull, German Shepherd, Rottweiler, and Doberman.

Were Sayo's student council friends happened to be dog lovers as well? Coincidentally, Hina's curiosity was conveyed by Mom, who asked the very same question.

"Well, one of them owns a Shiba Inu," Sayo answered.

The Hanasakigawa student typed, "What's the occasion, Ushigome-senpai?" then sent a follow-up chat: "All breeds are fine for me, including the fierce-looking one like Rottweiler". The other participants then talked about a dog popularity poll and spammed the chat with stickers.

Sayo continued typing, but her hands stopped partway. She gave her mother a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, Mom. I won't pull an all-nighter."

Hina kind of envied her Mom now. Sayo never smiled at Hina in years. When was the last time they were still on good terms? The fifth or sixth year of elementary school? She was lost in thought until a poke at her arm interrupted.

"Hina, why don't you join the student council like your sister?" asked Mom with a teasing smile. "Instead of playing around every day."

Hina pouted. "I do some serious after-school activities too..."

"For instance?" Mom asked with a calm smile.

"My astronomy club meetings!"

Though it was kind of sad because the club only had two members during this whole year.

"I also make aroma oils at the chemistry lab!"

But it wasn't considered a club activity.

"And… You-know-what practice." Hina gave Mom a meaningful look.

"Yes, I believe you." Mom giggled. The woman later turned to Sayo. "Could you come down for a while? Your dad is looking for you."

"This late at night?"

Sayo gave a confused look. She seemed unaware of the cake, let alone the birthday celebration. Either that, or she was so good at acting oblivious. She didn't ask questions and excuse herself from the chatroom nevertheless.

What welcomed Hikawa twins in the living room was "Happy Birthday" sung by their parents as well as a birthday cake. Dad popped a party popper; making both Hina and Sayo were covered in confetti. The room was decorated with pennant banners and some balloons.

"Happy birthday, Onee-chan!" exclaimed Hina with a bright smile.

"...Happy birthday too, Hina."

Ironically, happiness was absent from her sister's face. Hina guessed Sayo might be still upset about her band situation, so she didn't contemplate that. Instead, she hugged her parents and thanked them for the surprise.

"I don't realize today is our birthday," Sayo muttered.

Dad gave a small laugh. "My daughter is such a busy bee that she even forgets her own birthday."

"Sayo's been up for her student council's task when I called her."

"Well, there's the entrance ceremony around the corner…"

"Take a break, Sayo," Dad suggested. The teal-haired man then spread his arms and exclaimed, "Come, join the hug on this merry day!"

Hina, still clinging to her parents like a koala to its eucalyptus tree, nodded. She turned her head to Sayo and said, "Yeah, yeah! Let's do a group hug, Onee-chan!"

"What's with this group hug thing…" muttered Sayo, who later said, "Mom, Dad, we're not kids anymore… No need to hold a celebration like this every single year."

Hina let go of her hug. "There's a whole cake, Onee-chan! Don't you love it?" she asked enthusiastically. The younger twin grinned and added, "I'll give a third, nope, half of my share to you!"

"I've passed the period of sweets-loving kid."

That was puzzling. Hina saw Sayo eat a slice of chocolate cake just yesterday. Furthermore, there were chewing gums and candies beside her sister's laptop. Why would she lie?

Sayo let out a sigh. "Look; Mom, Dad, I truly appreciate this," she uttered. "But to be honest, these few years I have been meaning to tell you that I'm not that fond of this kind of celebration anymore..."

"Sayo," Mom reached out Sayo's hand. She calmly said, "Just stay for a while."

Sayo looked at Mom in the eyes. She went silent for a while before eventually stating, "Alright... I'll stay until we cut the cake."

The family of four then gathered around the birthday cake. Hina and Sayo were seated on a couch. The birthday girls held the cake together, while their parents took photos of them. Contrary to Hina who smiled all the time, Sayo seemed apathetic. It was very apparent that her big sister didn't enjoy this at all. And Hina kind of guessed that it was her fault. Like always.

Dad asked Sayo and Hina to blow the candles together. Hina, being a good girl, readied herself to do so, yet her sister on the other hand…

Sayo crossed her arms and stated, "I don't want to."

Hina turned her head to Sayo. "Onee-chan…" she said weakly.

Dad tried to encourage his eldest daughter. "Come on, Sayo. Just blow the candles together with Hina, then you're done." His hands were still holding the phone to take pictures.

Sayo shook her head. "...This joint birthday is ridiculous."

"Your grandparents would like to see the photos."

"So this whole setup is to fool our grandparents, huh…" Sayo flatly said.

Hina was bewildered by her sister's statement. "Set up? Fooling grandpas and grandmas?"

Sayo got up from the sofa. She looked at Dad straight in the eye. "Dad, please stop sending birthday photos of us every single year," the oldest daughter said. "It's no use giving them a false impression that Hina and I are getting along like the old days."

Mom approached Sayo and patted her shoulder. "Sayo, please calm down."

"I'm done with this pretend play, Mom," Sayo opposed. She then turned to Dad and said, "Truth is: we don't! And they already realize that."

"They know?" Hina asked as she raised from her seat as well. "Even great grandpa and grandma?"

Whenever Hina talked to her grandparents, she made it seem like Sayo and her relationship were normal, just like any other siblings. She didn't want them to worry about their cold war. But to think that they knew the truth all along….

"Of course they're aware of our situation," replied Sayo. She walked past Hina, intending to leave the living room.

"T-then…" Hina talked to Sayo's back. "What made us drift apart like this? We've stopped doing things together, you and I are going to different schools, and… And… These days we barely even talk!"

Sayo mumbled inaudibly then turned around. Mom and Dad meanwhile were left speechless by their children's outbursts.

"Please tell me, Onee-chan! What did I do wrong?"

"Why don't you figure it out yourself?" Sayo asked Hina back. "You're supposed to be a genius, am I right?"

"But…!"

Hina didn't have any single clue. She did ask her parents for this, yet all they said were "It's not anyone's fault" and "Please give Sayo some more time". They knew all along, but what made them decide to keep it from Hina was a total mystery.

"Now excuse me."

Hina and her parents could only watch in silence as Sayo left the room and went back upstairs.

"...Maybe Onee-chan was right," Hina said. "It's foolish to pretend that all is well… Besides, we're not kids anymore. We shouldn't have a birthday party like this."

Mom and Dad exchanged looks. Her parents seemed as if they were communicating with some sort of code. They often did that, so Hina became kind of used to it.

"I'm a sad excuse for a father," Dad said. He smiled wearily. "I force you and Sayo to do things that you girls don't even enjoy."

"N-no! I always look forward to our birthday parties!" Hina objected. "It's just that… She doesn't want to celebrate with me. It's practically my fault."

"No, Dear," said Mom. She held Hina's hand and continued, "Sayo is just too tired with her student council and band activities."

Hina shook her head. "Onee-chan is always grumpy whenever I talk to her," she weakly said. "And you've heard her: we're not getting along…."

Hina stared at her birthday cake blankly. Some parts of the ice cream had started to melt.

"I wonder if she actually hates me…." Hina added. "If that's the case, I—"

"Of course not," Dad interjected. "Sayo loves you. It's the one thing that's not going to change. Ever." The teal-haired man smiled warmly.

Hina could see the sadness in her parents' eyes. Now she made the atmosphere in the room worse. And it made her feel guilty.

Hina exclaimed, "Welp, Onee-chan didn't want the cake; that means more cake for me!" She grinned and asked, "Mom, cut the cake for the birthday girl, will ya~"

It was Hina's duty to brighten the mood, for her parents' sake. If there was one thing she disliked in the world, it was seeing her family sad. Ironically, Sayo was the reason this time. Yet, she couldn't hate her sister for it. She just loved her twin so much, no matter how distant they were now.

Hina and her parents spent another hour in the living room before returning to their own bedrooms.

Hina glanced at Sayo's door, wondering whether her sister was still up or not. The girl clenched her fist and raised it. She meant to knock but suddenly decided not to. She lightly tapped the door instead. The sound was so faint that Sayo wouldn't possibly hear that. Besides, if she were to knock, Sayo would most likely say 'Go away, Hina' or something along the lines.

And Hina didn't need to worsen her special day any further.

As the girl turned away, she laid eyes on the Hikawa family's photos hanging on the hallway. Most of them were pictures taken during Hina and Sayo's childhood. It was a happy time full of laughter. As the sisters grew older, their picture together became scarcer and scarcer.

A certain photo reminded her of something. It captured the moment when infant Hikawa twins slept soundly inside their crib, with Sayo holding Hina's hand… just like sea otters who hold hands while sleeping, so they wouldn't drift away from each other.

A few years later, when the six-year-old twins helped their parents pick photos to hang, Mom praised Sayo as a good big sister because she always managed to calm Hina down whenever her younger sibling burst out crying in the middle of the night. Sayo replied that maybe her baby self was just too tired of hearing Hina's ear-piercing scream, so she used whatever means necessary to make her twin shut up (holding hands, hugging, or pat in the head worked wonders). Sayo then hugged Hina and exclaimed: "Onee-chan won't let you cry, ever!"

Hina could still feel the warmth from a decade back. She hugged herself, fully aware that her twin couldn't return the hug. Sayo who cherished Hina was hidden somewhere behind her current ice-cold persona.

Hina's vision turned blurry. She wiped her eyes and smiled wryly at their childhood photos.

"Guess you won't be around to comfort me this time… Onee-chan."


	5. Night and Day

**Chapter 5**

**Night and Day**

"Boppin' shark, doo doo doo doo doo doo~"

Hina was walking across the hallway as she sang 'Baby Shark' with altered lyrics.

"Hina-chan, can you make me a cup of coffee?" asked her mother's voice. It came from upstairs.

Hina responded to the request and immediately went to the kitchen. She made Mom's usual cup of espresso, then brought it to the attic.

The attic was illuminated with natural light that came through from its large windows. Two canvases stood at the center of the room. The paintings haven't finished yet, from the looks of it. Some parts of the room's wooden flooring were covered with large sheets because painting was always a messy activity.

It was Mom's studio. When Hina and Sayo were kids, they spent lots of their time in this room; playing with paints and crayons. Hina recalled that she often drew aliens with its flying saucers, while Sayo preferred dogs and other fluffy animals.

Mom didn't seem to realize Hina's presence yet, as she was in working mode. Hina could peek at her mother's work through a large monitor and graphic tablet (which size was as big as the monitor). The woman was digitally coloring some sort of RPG-ish artwork while looking at reference pictures.

As Hina walked toward Mom's workstation, she gave one of the canvases a more careful look. The ones depicted there made Hina stop her legs and smiled wryly.

The painting featured two astronaut rabbits; each stood on the sun and moon. Their hands were reaching out to each other, but to no avail as their homes were so far apart. The celestial bodies were clearly referring to Hina and her sister. Hina's name contained the kanji character for "day", while Sayo was "night".

Mom often drew Hina and Sayo since they were little. In this particular piece, she used other beings to represent the twins. But Mom wasn't the type to draw her close ones out of whim. She must've worried sick with her daughters' fight the other day that she poured her feelings into a canvas.

Not that Hina could do anything….

"Here's your morning caffeine~" Hina placed the mug on Mom's table, just beside the graphic tablet. The teenager did it with extreme caution. She didn't want to spill hot coffee on a gadget that cost even more than her electric guitar.

Mom thanked Hina and pointed at her with a stylus-pen-thingy. "But why are you still wearing _that?_"

What Mom meant by _that_ was a loose t-shirt and a pair of short cotton pants. A look that was fitting for a couch potato, watching sitcoms all weekend.

"Shouldn't you start preparing?" The blond-haired woman glanced at a clock that displayed half-past ten. "Your meeting will start at noon, right?"

Hina smiled sheepishly. "Wh-what are you talking about, Mom? The meeting is at twelve… twelve midnight!"

Mom chuckled. "No one holds a meeting at midnight. Especially the one that includes a teenager." She later sipped her coffee as Hina forced a laugh. The mother put back the mug and looked at the daughter in the eyes. "...Or do you intend to miss the meeting on purpose?"

Hina avoided eye contact and raised her shoulders. "Should I go, tho?"

"Huh? Are you sure about that?" asked Mom, worried. "You've been practicing hard these past few weeks for the audition… In fact, I've never seen you that dedicated before."

It was just like Mom said. In her sixteen years of life, Hina had never been serious with literally anything. She could achieve good results without even trying that it quickly bore her. Being a genius at everything, the girl couldn't understand the word 'dedication'.

Why did Mom take days, even weeks, just to finish one artwork?

Why would Sayo strum a certain phrase over and over again?

It was so puzzling.

Only when Hina decided to play the guitar, she started to understand its meaning, even if just a little. She spent day and night strumming the strings of her guitar; whether it was in the school premises or at home when Sayo wasn't around. She was obsessed with learning chords, performing over a hundred songs, and arranging the medley for her band audition.

All in the hope to rekindle their sisterhood.

"It's just…" Hina sighed. The girl sat on the floor and leaned her back to Mom's computer table. She hugged her legs and buried her face there. "Now I wonder if playing guitar will do any good to fix our relationship."

Nearly two weeks had passed since the incident during the Hikawa twins' birthday. The two never speak a word to each other after that. They even avoid being in the same room due to awkwardness. And Hina never picked up the guitar anymore because it reminded her of Sayo.

"Isn't it useless to do anything when the recipient clearly hates you…?" Hina continued. Tears were formed in her eyes as she uttered the painful word.

"Hina-chan…"

Hina sobbed. It was rare for her to have an emotional breakdown like this. The girl felt so vulnerable when it came to her sister. But warmth quickly filled her heart as she felt Mom's hands embraced her. Hina broke into tears on her mother's shoulder.

Mom patted Hina's head gently. "I'm so sorry I can't do anything for you and Sayo-chan."

Hina muttered inaudibly. She was always perplexed whenever her parents apologized regarding Hina and Sayo's current relationship. It frustrated her, being clueless about everything.

Hina let go of the hug and raised her head to look at Mom who had the same pair of green eyes like hers. "Mom, can you please tell me, what made Onee-chan change?" Her voice was so weak that it almost sounded like a whisper.

Mom smiled bitterly. "I've been meaning to tell you for years, but…" She sighed. "I just can't disclose that."

"But why?" Hina insisted. Her eyes were still wet from tears. "I-if only I know what's the reason, I can try to fix whatever is wrong with me...!"

"It's not something that needs fixing." Mom wiped Hina's tears. "There's nothing wrong with you, my daughter," she said with a reassuring smile.

Yet, Hina wasn't satisfied with her mother's answer. It was way too vague.

"Then, why… Why do you keep it a secret?"

Mom seemed at a loss for words. She looked the other way for a moment—maybe thinking hard of what to say—then fixated her gaze to Hina once more.

"If I were the one to reveal that, I'm afraid it'll only inflict more pain to either you or Sayo-chan… or worse."

Hina was left speechless. Whatever the reason was, it seemed the only person who could straighten the issue was Sayo Hikawa herself.

"...But I can share this one secret," Mom said. "Tell you what: Sayo-chan recently saw that rabbit painting of you two." She glanced at the painting and smiled. "You might think that Sayo hates you, but her eyes back then… It reflected sadness."

"Is that true?"

Mom nodded in return.

Hina turned her eyes at the painting of sun and moon rabbits. From what Mom described, it seemed that Sayo longed to reach Hina's hand as well. It made the younger twin realize: although Sayo was usually cold, there were some instances when she cared for her.

"Mom," said Hina. "I think I would give the band a shot."

»↠ ≈ ≈ ↞«

Hina locked the front door then descended a flight of stairs (the entrance of her house was located on the second floor). She glanced at the clear morning sky and hummed the jingle from a TV commercial. Her mood improved a lot after that talk with Mom.

But the merry humming ended abruptly when Hina bumped into another person at the staircase intersection. She unconsciously took a step backward and said sorry. Her eyes then widened at the sight of the person who stood before her.

"Welcome home... Onee-chan."

Sayo nodded indifferently. Although still on holiday, she wore her school uniform. She carried a large paper bag on her left hand and a jacket on the other.

"...I'm home."

The twins averted their gaze and didn't speak another word. If awkwardness could kill, Hina might be dead in a matter of minutes.

Hina looked at the large paper bag that Sayo carried. "That's... A big package you've got." She tried to break the ice.

"It's a birthday present from student council members," Sayo replied without looking at Hina.

Hina's body tensed. Talking about their birthday made her recalled their fight. The air felt so heavy that she found it hard to breathe.

"Hina."

The voice came from the older Hikawa sisters. Hina anxiously thought that Sayo might realize her puffy eyes. She was sure to get rid of them with a cool compress and eye cream. Should she make up a story like binge-watching tear-jerking Thai commercials?

"…I crossed the line the other day," Sayo still avoided eye contact. "So, uh—"

Hina let out a sigh of relief. Good thing Sayo didn't see her puffy eyes. But most importantly, her sister brought up _that_ incident.

Sayo's cheeks reddened. "—I apologize for that."

Hina shook her head and smiled brightly. "It's A-okay, Onee-chan! Just conversing like this already made my day."

Sayo then asked where Hina intended to go and when she would return home, which the younger twin answered with a white lie. Sayo couldn't find out about the band audition… yet.

"Welp, Imma off then~"

Sayo gave way to Hina, who immediately passed through. But as Hina continued to descend the stairs, she could hear Sayo say "Hold on". The short-haired girl stopped her step and turned to the big sister.

"You'd better take this if you intend to return home late. It's going to be cold at night," said Sayo, handing the jacket that she had been carrying for a while. "It's still clean. I haven't used it yet," she added.

Hina only wore a rolled-sleeve flannel shirt over a blouse, which she realized wasn't quite enough to withstand the cold breeze of early spring nights. The girl forgot to bring a jacket as she was in a rush due to her initial plan to skip the meeting.

Hina took the gray jacket from her sister's hand. It was Sayo's favorite outerwear, made of wool, and had double-breasted buttons. It wasn't Hina's usual style of outerwear, but the fact that Sayo lent it made her over the moon.

"Thanks, Onee-chan!"

Sayo nodded and turned around. As the older twin ascended the stairs, she quietly said, "Be careful on your way there."


	6. Pastel Beginnings

**Chapter 6**

**Pastel✽Beginnings**

* * *

"I need you! I love you―" A pink-haired girl abruptly stopped her singing and put away her mic stand. "―wait, why do we perform this song?"

Hina Hikawa, still clinging to the mic stand, replied, "Cause this is the only idol song that's familiar to all of us!" She formed a peace sign beside her eyes and winked.

"Heavy rotation…!"

The voice came from a TV that played the video of AKB48's concert. A group of girls was moving their bodies around, accompanied by a song that became a major hit some years back.

A Japanese-Finnish girl spoke up, "Heavy Rotation was the only Japanese idol song that became trending back in Finland…" Her shoulders declined. "I'm so sorry for my lack of knowledge."

A girl who wore a pair of half-rimmed glasses added, "I'm not too familiar with this genre as well, to be honest. And I always moved the wrong way." She let out an awkward laugh. "Sorry…"

Aya shook her head. "N-no, it's not your fault, Eve-chan, Maya-chan!"

A week had passed since Hina went to the meeting at the agency. It was pretty straightforward, even for Hina's standard. The producer directly announced that Hina, along with a few other girls were gathered there to form an idol band named Pastel✽Palettes.

Since Hina decided to take up guitar, she pictured herself in a common pop or rock band. But an idol band? Were they supposed to be dancing around while playing instruments? It reminded her of dancing violinist Lindsey Stirling. And the thought of doing that with a guitar intrigued her.

Aya turned her eyes to Hina. "We should perfect 'Shuwarin Drea~min' instead of doing dance covers!" The twin-tail haired girl said in a panic. "O-our debut is just a few days away…!"

"You went along for a few minutes, tho."

Aya blushed and smiled sheepishly.

"I'm bored… We've been practicing the same song for a week." Hina pouted. "Besides, it's not like we're going to sing or play instruments during the live. They're going to play a pre-recorded song, anyway."

"I know, b-but that's―" Aya's sentence was cut halfway. She looked down and seemed at a loss for words.

Maya sighed. "Well, you're right about that, though…"

"Fake-playing isn't very bushido-like." Eve wore a glum face.

Silence fell. Hina didn't understand why her friends went all sullen. The girl was just stating the truth.

Though, to be honest, Hina was confused about the pretend-playing business at first. Why would the agency hold a guitarist audition in the first place if the winner would just fake around?

This whole situation was weird, yet interesting at the same time.

Thus, instead of moping around, Hina chose to go along with the act. The agency might be in a rush, so they went with this kind of shortcut. After the debut performance, the other band members might undergo some kind of intensive training and eventually perform for real.

The studio door opened, revealing a woman in semi-formal attire. She was the manager of Pastel✽Palettes.

"Huh, you girls are still here? I thought the music lesson had ended a while ago."

"Good evening, Miyagi-san!" Aya waved at their manager. She switched to her merry mode in a blink of an eye.

"You've been working hard these past few days," said Miyagi. "Don't overdo it though, okay?"

"But, the debut…"

Miyagi smiled. "Taking care of the members' health is part of my job, you know."

Aya eventually gave in. A few minutes later the girls wrapped up their practice and made their way out of the agency building. But as they were walking across the hallway, a loud growl suddenly filled the air.

Hina tilted her head toward the vocalist. "Aya-chan, are you that famished?" she teased.

"W-what makes you think I'm the one who's responsible?"

"Welp, you and I are the only ones who would go doing stupid stuff in front of others~" Hina stuck out her tongue. "Besides, Eve-chan and Maya-chan don't strike me as growly-tummy types."

"Hmph! Hina-chan, you meanie!" Aya pouted.

Hina laughed out loud, while Eve and Maya chuckled.

Eve then stroked her palms. "Oh! How about we eat out somewhere?"

Hina nodded in agreement. "I'm in!" She made eye contact with Aya again. "The other passengers will stareee so hard if you growl on the train~"

"Why are you always teasing me…?" asked Aya, whose expression resembled a sad puppy.

Hina grinned. "Your reactions are fun to watch, that's why!"

»↠ ≈ ≈ ↞«

Hina and her bandmates ate out after their intensive training session. They chose a family restaurant near the train station. The place was packed with people, as they came during dinnertime. Its waiters and waitresses were moving around like bees; busily taking orders and delivering the dishes.

┏━━━━•❃°•°❀°•°❃•━━━━┓

Aya Maruyama aya_pasupa2712 · 6:39 PM

It feels unreal that we're going to debut in just a few days *✧

I can't wait to perform in front of the audience! (*ˊᵕˋ*)

┗━━━━•❃°•°❀°•°❃•━━━━┛

"Hey, you forgot to add "lip-syncing" in that tweet~" Hina Hikawa pointed at her friend with a spoon.

"D-don't say that out loud, Hina-chan!"

Hina giggled. "When did you post that anyway?" she asked.

"Mm? When you were searching for 'Heavy Rotation' videos." Aya fiddled at her phone. Her typing speed was surprisingly fast.

"Here's your serving of Giga Fries Platter!" A waitress placed a platter of fries and smiled at everyone present at Pastel✽Palettes' table.

"Yaay, thankies! Time to dig in!" Hina raised her hands to the air. She immediately took a couple of fries and looked at her friends. "Hey, go grab 'em before it's cold~"

"Oh, I can have them?" Maya pointed at herself, which Hina replied with a nod. She took a couple of fries and dipped them into a bowl of tartar sauce. As the girl munched at the food, her face was filled with delight. "Whoa... This is as good as you said, huhehe!"

Maya Yamato, initially filled-in as a support drummer, was later recruited to become a full-fledged member of Pastel✽Palettes. The girl frequently talked about tidbits of sound equipment, which fascinated Hina. And she happened to attend Haneoka, the same school as Hina.

Eve, meanwhile, expressed her enjoyment in a rather unusual word choice: "You're right, Hina-san! It's a feast befitting our conclave!"

Eve Wakamiya was a model at the agency prior to joining Pastel✽Palettes. She was born and raised in Finland but later moved to her father's home country of Japan. Although the girl had a frail lady-like appearance, she loved to imitate samurai.

"Aya-san, aren't you going to eat?" Maya asked the girl who sat across her. The person she referred to glanced at the platter and mumbled inaudibly since they began eating.

Aya Maruyama, the vocalist of Pastel✽Palettes, was the clumsy one of the group. Hina found it amusing whenever the former idol trainee went all panicky as she sang off notes or messing up the MC session. She did better in expressing herself via Twitter and other social networks, though.

Hina swung a menu book beside Giga Fries Platter in an effort to blow away its mouth-watering smell toward her friend. "You can't resist the temptation of potatoes!"

"Hina-chan, stop it!" Aya looked away, but the girl quickly wavered as she took a peek at the platter again. "...Is it okay to consume fried foods before a live show?"

Hina leaned her head to her hand. She gave Aya a teasing smile and said, "Nah, they will play a pre-recorded voice, anyway~"

"Shuush!" The other three placed their index finger in front of their lips.

"Besides, aren't you ordering an omelet that contains fried rice?" Hina shrugged.

Pastel✽Palettes members couldn't disclose about the lip-syncing and fake-playing business to the public, as stated in their written contract. Hina recalled that she almost fell asleep when she read that boring bundle of paper, yet Eve said it might help them not to stray the path of bushido.

"Look, Chisato-chan's new drama will air next week!"

Aya pointed at the restaurant's TV. It showed a commercial of an upcoming TV drama. It featured their bassist, Chisato Shirasagi, in a scene where she found an abandoned puppy in the middle of the rain.

Hina bet the show would be another tear-jerking drama, like numerous stories about the furry friends she had seen before. It reminded her of Sayo, who used to be the first to cry as well as the last to stop whenever they watched dog movies. Her big sister always had a soft spot for canines.

"Come to think of it, Chisato-san always leave straight away when our music lessons end." Eve took another fries. "Maybe it's related to this show?"

"Hmm, it might be the case…" said Maya.

"Aww, the dog is so cute like a plush doll!" Aya commented. "I wonder what breed it is…."

"It's a Westie, I think~" Hina answered. "Oh, speaking of dogs makes me remember onee-chan! You're a second-year student at Hanasakigawa, right? Do you know her?"

"Sister?" Aya asked back. Her eyes then widened. "Sayo Hikawa is your big sister!"

Hina imitates the sound effect of a buzzer. "Ding ding! A hundred points for Aya-chan!"

"Sayo-san the impregnable fortress?!" Eve slammed the table in surprise, startling her fellow bandmates as well as other customers. Realizing her mistake, she immediately bowed and apologized to everyone.

"Impregnable fortress?" Maya turned her face to Eve, Hina, then Aya. "Wa-wait, are we talking about a warlord now?"

"I met Sayo-san on the first day of school…" Eve stared at the distance. "I wanted to express the spirit of bushido by swinging a wooden sword at the school gate. But then Sayo-san came and asked me to hand the sword―oh, you must be confused, Maya-san! She's a disciplinary committee at Hanasakigawa―and she didn't flinch, no matter how much I begged for mercy..." She let out a sigh.

Hina laughed. "Welp, that's onee-chan for sure!"

"You bought a _wooden sword_?" asked Aya in disbelief.

"Mm? Isn't the kendo club members armed with bamboo swords, too?"

Maya chuckled. "I'm pretty sure they don't carry it outside the dojo…"

The waitress returned with more food consisting of omelet rice, double cheeseburger, spaghetti with meatballs, and pork cutlet bowl. Aya drew an emoji on her omelet rice with ketchup, snapped a photo, then uploaded it on Twitter. Eve and Maya, meanwhile, didn't bother to decorate their dinner, let alone took a photo of them.

"Say, how did you know onee-chan?" Hina took the top bun of her double cheeseburger and placed a few french fries between the lettuce. "Did she confiscate your stuff, too?"

"I hope it won't ever come to that." Aya smiled. "We're just classmates."

"Really?! How's she like at school?" Hina's eyes sparkled with excitement. "Tell me, tell me! Pretty please~"

"Mm, we haven't talked much…" Aya put her phone on the table. "I guess she's the polar opposite of you?"

"Cool and serious, you mean?" Hina repositioned the top bun of her burger, then lifted the junk food from its plate.

Aya nodded. "And she's very helpful in class! Just the other day, she …"

Hina listened intently while she consumed her burger. Relief filled her heart, knowing that Sayo was doing fine at school. Years of the cold war made her know literally nothing, after all.

»↠ ≈ ≈ ↞«

"I'm home!"

Hina exclaimed cheerfully as she walked into the foyer of Hikawa residence. She put her shoes in the shoe cabinet and switched footwear into home sandals. Barkings could be heard from the living room. Her parents must've been watching a dog show.

"Mom, Dad―huh, Onee-chan?"

Hina didn't expect to see Sayo when she entered the living room. The long-haired girl was alone, watching TV while playing the guitar or the other way round. That was rare. She usually practiced in her own bedroom.

"Oh, you're home," said Sayo. She pulled a cord that was connecting her navy blue guitar with its mini amp and placed all of the instruments on an empty coffee table. "Where have you been until this late?"

"I was having dinner with a Finnish samurai warlord and her friends!"

Sayo frowned. "You and your nonsense…"

Hina approached the sofa and sat on it, right beside her older twin. "Where's Mom and Dad?"

"On a date night at DisneySea," Sayo answered. "Didn't they tell you?"

Hina checked her phone. Right; she missed some messages from both of her parents. Dad sent two photos of a Donald Duck pillow and asked whether Hina liked it, while Mom spammed a bunch of Disney characters' parade as well as some date photos.

"Aww, mom and dad are just like newlyweds!" Hina said gleefully, but seconds later her expression turned into a pout. "It's a bummer they didn't invite us, tho… I wanna hug Donald."

"Geez, are you a kid?" Sayo crossed her hands.

Hina grinned.

...Wait, was it just her feeling or Sayo's mood tonight was much better than usual?

Hina hugged her sister's arm and gleefully said, "You're in a good mood, Onee-chan! Something boppin' happened today?"

Sayo blushed due to the sudden physical contact. "L-let go of me, Hina!" She turned her reddened face away. "Just go to the bath already."

"Okey dokey~" Hina replied as she let go of her sister's arm. She really needed to soak in a bathtub of hot water, anyway, but not before she typed some replies to her parents.

Sayo was also checking messages on her phone. Hina glanced at Sayo's screen and spotted a LINE chat with someone who used a kitten as a profile picture. She only caught a glimpse that they were planning to meet tomorrow and mentioned a circle. Hina raised her eyebrow.

_Circle?_

She wondered if Sayo joined a self-publishing group. Hina didn't know much about her sister's activities these days, so this was surprising. Furthermore, what kind of manga or novel her sister was working on?

"...Hey, Onee-chan."

"Yes?" Sayo was still focused on her phone, though she already moved on to another chatroom.

"Are you into BL?"

Sayo immediately turned her head. The guitarist didn't need to utter a single word, but judging from her expression, she probably said, "Are you fucking kidding me?".

"Guess it's a no?"

Hina shrugged and got up from the sofa. As the younger twin made her way upstairs, a melody of the dog show's theme song began to play. It didn't come from the TV; it was Sayo playing her guitar.

Whatever happened today, she was glad that Sayo seemed to have fun.


	7. The Calm Before the Storm

**Chapter 7**

**The Calm Before the Storm**

"Mom, Dad, I'm home~!"

Hina showed up in the living room that was connected to the kitchen. Dad was watching TV, while Mom was preparing dinner. The daughter's nose instantly caught a fragrant smell of stew being cooked.

"Welcome home, Hina!" greeted Mom as she stirred the stew. "Take a bath then eat your dinner."

"Let our kiddo relax first." Dad smiled and tapped the sofa. "Come, watch the TV with your dad."

Hina looked at the TV. "Oh, the next segment's gonna feature Shiba Inu pups!" she exclaimed. "Wait a sec', Dad~ Imma ask Onee-chan to watch with us."

Hina left the living room and went upstairs.

These past two weeks had been hectic for Hina Hikawa. She, along with her band, Pastel✽Palettes, attended hours of music lessons and intensive training. Not to mention, promotional stuff like photo shoots and teaser videos for their upcoming debut. These days, it wasn't strange for Hina to arrive home at 9 or even 10 PM.

Although Tokyo was a city with a low crime rate, the fact that a high school girl often stayed out late still worried her parents. Sayo, on the other hand, grew suspicious of her younger twin's night activities but didn't express it in front of Hina (Mom was the one who informed her of this).

When Hina asked Aya, the vocalist who also served as their _de facto_ leader, she said maybe their practice schedule was so packed because they had to debut in just two weeks after its forming.

Tonight was an exception. No lesson or intensive training scheduled. Tomorrow their band will have their big debut, so they need to conserve energy. The clock had barely struck 7 PM, but Hina was already at home. Although prior to that, she spent a few hours roaming around Shinjuku's main street with some classmates. Her routine at the agency nowadays made her feel kinda bored.

"Onee-chan, I'm home!"

Hina opened Sayo's door and saw her older twin sitting on a bed. Sayo was so absorbed with her phone that she didn't even realize Hina's presence. Usually, she would complain if Hina barged into her room without knocking. Whatever made Sayo ignorant with her surroundings? The younger Hikawa took a pillow from the bed and sat on the floor.

Hina waited for a few moments, yet still no response. How strange...

"Onee-chan, watcha lookin' at?"

Sayo was startled. "Hina…!" She immediately closed the browser app on her phone and put the device down. "I told you not to look at people's phones like that."

Hina already caught a glimpse of her sister's screen, though. Sayo was looking at a website named "Future World Fes". It displayed photos of various bands performing live.

"Mm, Future World Fes?" asked Hina. "What's that? Some kinda rock event?"

"It's my private matter." Sayo frowned. "You have nothing to do with it, Hina."

"Nothing to do with me, huh~"

Sayo looked away. She didn't utter another word.

Hina pouted. She might be considered as rude for peeking Sayo's phone, but she was kind of desperate. Her sister was so secretive these days, that's why. She hugged Sayo's pillow and shook her head. No, a little grumpiness couldn't stop Hina from inviting her older twin to do something together.

"Hey, hey… Come with me to the living room, then!" Hina wore a bright smile. "Dad's watching that dog show you like."

"It's recording, I'll watch it later," Sayo replied, still facing away. "I'm busy right now." The girl curled her side hair with her fingers. "And you don't even like dogs, Hina."

"But you do, though, don't you?" asked Hina, though the answer was obvious. "We're twins, right? It's nice to do things together sometimes…."

Sayo scoffed. "You always want to do everything together."

Hina was startled by her sister's unpleasant tone.

"Onee-chan, I was just—"

"—Just because we were born on the same day, doesn't mean we have to be around each other all the time, does it?"

Hina's shoulders declined. She didn't mean to offend her older twin. Why would Sayo be so against the idea of them doing stuff together?

"We agreed that we wouldn't get in each other's hair like this once we started high school." Sayo got up from the bed and took her guitar from its stand. "Now go back to your room." She glanced at Hina coldly. "I have to practice."

"...Okay," said Hina weakly. "I'm sorry, Onee-chan…."

Hina closed the door behind her. The hallway that connected the bedrooms was decorated with Hikawa family photos; from when their parents were just married until Hina and Sayo got into high school. The majority of the photos were taken during the twins' infancy to elementary school days.

The turquoise-haired girl hung off a frame that displayed a photo of Sayo and her during their elementary school's sports day. It was the last photo of them while they were still on good terms. She recalled that they were facing off during the anchor leg of a relay race; Hina secured the first place while Sayo was fourth out of eight sixth-year classes.

How Hina longed for the old days. When the twins were little, they were always doing stuff together and there was no secret between them. Those were joyful days. Sayo used to smile brightly and loved to cuddle her.

The younger sister often wondered what went wrong with their relationship. They never got into a huge fight. Sayo simply just became distant for an unknown reason. They even went to different middle and high schools, which made their time together become even scarcer.

Tomorrow Hina will perform live with Pastel✽Palettes. One step closer to chase after Sayo's back. But would Sayo want to play the guitar with her, after what she said just now?

Hina shook her head. It wasn't like her to be negative like this. Yes, she must stay positive. Her relationship with Sayo would definitely return to how they used to be if she kept trying… one step at a time.

»↠ ≈ ≈ ↞«

[Kaoru Seta] Ah, the sun graces us with its majestic presence this Saturday afternoon. May your performance be as vibrant as your name, Hina.

[Kaoru Seta] Come spread your wings! For the great Shakespeare once said, "Nothing will come of nothing."

Hina sent a laughing sticker, followed by thanks. Kaoru was always going overboard with her words, but that was what made the girl interesting.

[Lisa Imai] Jeez, Kaoru. You make my simple break a leg looked like a half-assed encouragement~

Kaoru and Lisa were classmates. The three only knew one another for less than a week, yet they already went through a bunch of stupid, memorable, stuff.

Hina was about to type a reply, but her train had already reached its destination. She sent a sticker instead, put the phone to her parka's pocket, and continued her journey.

The girl arrived at the agency ten minutes later. Hina and the others were supposed to meet at the agency before they went together to the concert venue by car. Aya, Maya, as well as Eve were still on the way based on what they said in Pastel✽Palettes' chatroom. Chisato, meanwhile, didn't specify her status and only gave them a gentle reminder to arrive as soon as possible.

Speaking of... Chisato Shirasagi, the bassist of Pastel✽Palettes, had already chilled at the lounge. She was reading a magazine when Hina entered the room. The blond closed the magazine, which turned out to be _Monthly Japanese Bushido_, and welcomed Hina with a smile.

"Oh, Hina-chan. Good morning."

"Hey, Chisato-chan!" Hina waved her hand. She joined her bandmate on the sofa and glanced at the magazine on Chisato's lap. "Huh, I didn't know you're interested in samurai too like Eve-chan."

Chisato chuckled. "Oh, it's nothing like that." She flipped around the magazine pages and showed an article to Hina. "This interview with Eve-chan caught my eye."

"Wow, her Shinsengumi-look is boppin'~" Hina commented. "I heard she owns one set at home. She bought it from a cosplay shop, tho."

Then a sudden realization hit Hina. The guitarist already knew a bunch of stuff about her other three bandmates, but not Chisato. Maybe she had interesting stories to tell like Maya and Eve, or secretly clumsy a.k.a. Aya 2.0. Hina only knew that Chisato was an actress and attended Hanasakigawa Girls' High School.

Wait, Hanasakigawa? Wasn't that Sayo's school?

And in the end, curiosity about Sayo's life at school defeated her intention to dig deeper into Chisato's background.

"I knew you look kind of familiar." Chisato smiled. "Judging from the color of your school uniform, you and Hika—Sayo-san are twins?"

Although Hina didn't wear her uniform right now, Haneoka's uniform was popular among high schoolers because it looked stylish.

"You recognize that I'm a second-year from my blue tie and skirt?" Hina grinned. "I didn't know people from other schools are able to correctly guess which color goes to which grade."

"An old friend of mine goes there."

"Hey, so are you one of Onee-chan's victims of disciplinary action?"

"Mm, I wonder about that." Chisato giggled as she gave a vague reply. She placed the tip of her open hand to the chin and continued, "Normally, people would ask 'are two friends?' or something along those lines."

Hina laughed. "Some people say I have a bizarre way of thinking~"

The lounge's door abruptly opened, revealing the three remaining members of Pastel✽Palettes. The girls pant as if they were just running to chase or be chased by something.

"S-sorry, we're late!" Aya said between her breath.

Both Hina and Chisato raised from the sofa and approached the trio.

"You guys look like a mess!" Hina laughed. "Did a ghost chase you?"

"Did you run along the way?" Chisato asked worriedly.

"Yes, Maya-san and I were inspired by Aya-san's overwhelming bushido spirit!" Eve exclaimed.

"Ah, I'm so sorry… I didn't mean to rush you." Chisato wore an apologetic smile. She glanced at a small pantry at the corner of the room and said, "Is it alright if we drink tea before we go to the venue? I'll make some for us."

»↠ ≈ ≈ ↞«

A van, along with several other cars, marched to the entrance of the concert hall. The building was huge. Maybe nearly the size of Nippon Budokan, a venue that was considered as the holy land of aspiring musicians.

Although the performance was still hours away, a number of people had gathered in front of the building. Hina squinted her pair of green eyes. They turned out to be another idol group's fans, from the posters and banners they carried around.

"We're going to perform as the opening act for Marmalade, huh," Hina said. "They're the idol group who hosts that dog show, right?" she asked Aya who sat beside her.

"Aaa, I'm so nervous!" Aya covered her face with both hands. "To perform on the same stage as Ayumi-san…!"

"The building is rather big…" Chisato commented. "Miyagi-san, how many people will be attending the concert?"

Suzuko Miyagi, their manager who sat on the front beside the driver, turned around. "The concert hall can hold about ten thousand people, I believe."

Aya gawked. "Ten thousand?!"

A wave of surprise also came from three girls who sat behind Hina and Aya's seat.

"That's two-thirds of Budokan's capacity!" Maya said.

"Ten thousand audiences for a debut…?" Chisato said in disbelief.

"I never perform anything in front of a hundred people, let alone ten thousand…" Eve added. Her voice trembled.

"Eh? It's nowhere near Glay's two-hundred thousand attendance concert, tho?" Hina shrugged. "I read that on the _Guinness World Records_ book."

Maya giggled. "We're just a speck of dust compared to a legendary rock band, Hina-san..."

"Please calm down, everyone." Miyagi smiled reassuringly. "You guys should be okay. The staff will play a pre-recorded voice and music."

Shortly after, Pastel✽Palettes' entourage was dropped at a secret entrance hidden from the public's eye. The hallways were bustling with staff, busy with preparations here and there.

A moment later, though, there was a strange occurrence happening before them. A girl was seen kneeling in front of a vending machine; her body bent up and arms stretched out to a space underneath the machine.

"Mmph...! Stupid a hundred yen coin!"

Both Chisato and Miyagi looked away, pretending not to see anything. The same couldn't be applied for Hina, though. She approached the girl instead.

"Hey, watcha doin' there?"

The said girl turned her head, revealing a cute woman in her early twenties. Her brunette hair was styled in a bob. She wore casual bright-colored tops combined with denim shorts.

Hina pointed at the young woman. "Wait, you're—"

"Ayumi-san?!"

"—the dog show host."

Ayumi got up right away. "That's right!" She gave a cute wink. "I'm Ayumi, the citrus peach and the center of Marmalade~"

Silence befell the group for a moment before it was broken by Aya.

"N-no way... She's the real Ayumi-san in the flesh!" Aya covered her mouth. Her eyes went all teary. "I… I've been your fan since forever!"

"Is that so?" Ayumi smiled. "It's nice to meet you—huh, aren't you guys Pastel✽Palettes, the new idol band that's going to perform during the opening act?"

"Oh my God, my upperclassman notices me!" was written all over Aya's face.

Miyagi stepped forward and politely greeted Ayumi. The manager then introduced the members of Pastel✽Palettes, along with their roles, one by one.

"Could… could I shake your hand?" asked Aya.

"I would say 'of course' in a normal circumstance…" Ayumi smiled apologetically and glanced at the vending machine. "But my hands are dirty because of all that rummaging."

"It's okay!" Aya shook her head. "I don't plan to wash my hands, after all."

Chisato giggled. "Aya-chan, you know that's unhygienic…"

Ayumi followed through with the giggle. She wiped her right hand to her tops, then offered her hand. Aya promptly shook the idol's hand in full excitement.

"Ayumi-san, there you are!" said a person from afar. "Let's go back and do another run-through."

"Okay, I'll be right there!" Ayumi replied. She turned back to Pastel✽Palettes' entourage and waved her hand. "See you on the stage, everyone!"


	8. Deceiving Ten Thousand People

**Chapter 8**

**Deceiving Ten Thousand People**

Even from the backstage, Hina could already feel the atmosphere on the stage. Like most concerts out there, the arena was shrouded in darkness during the moments before performers came out to the stage. Contrary to the lighting, cheers from the audience filled the whole concert hall with life. The girl caught a glimpse of lightsticks being waved around by fans.

Hina turned to face her bandmates. Aya was fidgeting around, Chisato wore her usual calm demeanor, Eve did some kind of meditation, while Maya used her drumming sticks as incense. It was kinda funny to see the variety of their reactions before going on stage.

"That's a lot of people out there." Hina pointed at the stage and grinned. "Funny how we've gotta get up there and make them all believe we're actually performing, right?"

The remaining four didn't respond at Hina's remark. Aya's face, she noticed, became even paler than before. Eve stopped her meditation and comforted the vocalist. Chisato joined the party and gave her words of encouragement.

"Y-yeah... You're right...!" Aya's face brightened and her eyes were filled with resolve. "We're going to give our best performance for our ten thousand audiences!"

Hina nodded. "Yup, minus the singing and playing instruments~"

"Hmph… Please don't ruin the mood, Hina-chan!" Aya whined.

"Sorry, sorry!" The guitarist laughed. "But I have a serious question, tho: is Marmalade lip-syncing?"

Aya shook her head. "They're always singing live, even when their voices become hoarse due to hours of singing and dancing..."

Hina nodded. "Wow, that's a pro for ya!"

"Pro, huh…" Chisato quietly muttered.

A backstage staff then approached the girls and said, "Pastel✽Palettes, you're up next!"

Pastel✽Palettes' members exclaimed "Okay!" in unison.

"Please welcome to the stage, here for their debut performance…" an MC said from the center of the stage. "The latest and greatest new idol band, Pastel✽Palettes!"

Aya headed out to the stage first; followed by Hina, Chisato, Eve, and finally Maya. Each girl was illuminated by a spotlight. They waved to the audiences, who welcomed them with a wave of cheer. Hina and the others walked to their stations—the instruments were already there for them to use—and readied their instruments at once.

The lights then brightened, giving Hina ease to look around. The stage was decorated with pastel-colored sweets like lollipops, macarons, and ice creams. It somehow matched with their stage costumes, frilly no-sleeve dresses in five different colors for each girl. She wondered whether the staff made the stage to match Pastel✽Palettes' image, or Marmalade happened to have a pastel color scheme as well. The correct answer would be the latter, most likely. Marmalade was the star of the show, after all.

Aya took a mic from its stand. "Hello, everyone! We are Pastel✽Palettes, a new idol band that's going to perform as the opening act for our seniors in Marmalade." She waved at the audience again. "Thank you so much for coming out to see Marmalade today!"

Hina smiled. Aya was nervous as heck on the backstage, but she turned out to be a smooth talker when she must.

"I think you'll get to know us best if we just go ahead and perform a song for you!" Aya carried on. She raised her hands and shouted, "Here is _Shuwarin Drea~min_!"

Hina strummed the strings of her blue guitar right away, syncing with the pre-recorded music. The girl had done it every single day that it became second nature to her. She hoped that the others were able to match their pretend-play with the music as well.

The audiences were cheering and waving their lightsticks around. Adding to Hina's excitement, they even switched the color of their lightsticks into pastel green, Pastel✽Palettes' band color. That was a warm reception for a group of newborn idols.

"Shuwa, shuwa! Dori dori~mi—"

The voice, as well as the music, suddenly stopped; yet Hina and her bandmates were still faking around for two or three seconds after that abrupt end. Silence fell, followed by thousands of murmurs from the audience. She couldn't tell what they said, but even an emotionally-dense person like Hina knew it must be bad.

Hina turned to Chisato and whispered, "What happened to the audio?!"

Chisato only shook her head. Even the actress couldn't hide her anxiety in this situation.

Aya, meanwhile, just froze. She held a mic, yet couldn't utter anything except a terribly nervous attempt to speak. And just then, Chisato grabbed a mic positioned at the bass guitar section and gave an announcement.

"We're sorry, everyone. It seems like due to some technical difficulties, we won't be able to continue our performance today." Chisato spoke in a calm manner, yet Hina knew she must be struggling to keep the panic from showing up. "We have many more shows planned for the near future and we hope you'll be back to see them."

Chisato ended her talk with a smile. "That's all for now from Pastel✽Palettes!"

The crowd was in a state of confusion.

Hina could hear Eve's voice from the rear, asking whether their show truly ended. Her voice was so weak, unlike her usual cheeriness.

"...I guess it has to be." Hina let out a sigh. "Let's get out of here."

Hina walked away, with her bandmates following suit. As the five returned backstage, she realized that Aya had it the worst. Her eyes were in tears and her body trembled. To make matters worse, they crossed paths with the members of Marmalade who were preparing to go out to the stage.

Aya ran past Ayumi and the rest of Marmalade members without saying a word, while Hina and the remaining Pastel✽Palettes girls could only say hello in total awkwardness.

»↠ ≈ ≈ ↞«

When the girls returned to the dressing room, they were approached by Miyagi. The manager said that the staff was finding out the problem as they spoke. But then she got a call from someone and went outside.

Hina couldn't believe what happened just minutes back. Their fake performance went smoothly during the first half, with people cheering and—most importantly—believed that they performed for real. The girl was about to say what she had in mind, yet Chisato beat her.

"...We just lied to ten thousand people and they all found out within minutes."

Silence befell the group. Hina couldn't find any word to lift up the mood. If there were any, though, she doubted it'll be useful to cheer her bandmates. She gazed at Aya, who was accompanied by Eve and Maya. Hina smiled wryly. Not with Aya sobbing around like that.

Then one of them spoke, followed by the others.

First, Eve questioned why the music suddenly stopped. Maya, as the music equipment geek of the group, gave a possible cause that it might be due to a fault on speakers, amps, or transformers. But soon after, an unexpected person spoke.

"I'm sorry, everyone…" Aya wiped the tears in her eyes. "I knew I had to do something, but I couldn't make a sound up there…"

"It's not your fault, Aya-san…!" Maya said reassuringly. "And there's no use crying over spilled milk, anyway." She shook her head and smiled. "We've just gotta make the next show even better!"

Eve and Chisato didn't share the same optimism, though.

Chisato got up from her seat and walked to the door. "I'm going to ask the staff what's going on."

As Chisato closed the door, lively music accompanied by the cheers of the audience, came from a TV placed in the dressing room. The screen showed live footage of what happened on stage. The arena was already cleared from any musical instruments Pastel✽Palettes had used before.

Ayumi and the rest of Marmalade's members came out from backstage and sang their hearts out. After the first song ended, they had an MC session, which didn't mention anything about what happened a few minutes prior, as if Pastel✽Palettes wasn't there.

Hina let out a dry laugh. Their senior idols must be ashamed with a lip-syncing bunch like them.

But then came a wave of discord amongst the audience. Some of them demanded a proper explanation of what happened with Pastel✽Palettes and gave an accusation that Marmalade did the same act of lip-syncing.

"Oh, no…" Aya's shoulders declined. "Wh-what should we do? We dragged Marmalade into our mess!"

Maya said, "Wait, don't they know how to tell whether a singer lip-syncing or not…?"

"If they could, they would boo-ing at us, even without that technical fault incident~" replied Hina.

"Whoa, that escalated quickly!" Ayumi said from the screen. Her astonishment didn't last long, though, as she smiled and said calmly, "Please lower your voices so we can talk, okay?"

And it didn't take long for the yelling to die out. Hina was impressed. Although Ayumi seemed like an adorkable person—based on what happened at the vending machine—she surely had an immense amount of charisma.

"The staff are still investigating the problem as we speak. I believe the management will address this matter properly soon enough." Ayumi explained. "But no matter what happens, please don't be too harsh to our cute juniors, alright?"

Aya gasped. "Ayumi-san still acknowledges us as her juniors…!" She was overflowing with tears once more.

"And a cute one at that." Hina patted Aya's shoulder. "C'mon, give us your pretty pink wink, Aya-chan!" She grinned and raised her thumb.

Aya gave a weak smile and winked at Hina.

"As of whether we sing for real or lip-syncing…" Ayumi said. Her smile was still intact. "How about we play a little game, everyone?"

The game that Ayumi spoke of was an improv. She challenged the audience to pick a Marmalade song to be performed in a cappella. Various titles came from the crowd, which later were voted based on the volume of cheers.

Before long the idol group performed a song without instrumental accompaniment. And what dazed Pastel✽Palettes, especially Aya, was the moment when Ayumi went "la la la" instead of uttering the correct words. As the song ended, the center of the group jokingly admitted that she forgot the lyrics because it was an old song.

"I'm not sure whether Ayumi-san truly forgot the lyrics or she intentionally made a mistake… But either way, it made the performance feel more natural." Maya touched her chin. "And I doubt anyone will accuse them of lip-syncing anymore."

Aya let out a fangirl squeal. But seconds later, she realized that Chisato hadn't returned to the dressing room.

"Is this all we can do right now? Just wait?" Eve asked. "I want to try to help…" Her face grew weary with anxiety. "And Chisato-san being out there is a little worrying."

"Ah~, I'm so bored just sitting around like this!" Hina raised from her chair. "Imma go see if I can find her."

"Ah, Hina-chan, I want to go too!"

Hina shook her head. "Nah, hold your horses~" She reached for the doorknob and gave a smirk. "Your makeup is so messed up that you looked like a ghost lady!"

As Hina closed the door behind, she could hear Aya screaming about her ruined makeup in agony.

"Now where could Chisato-chan be…?"

The guitarist of Pastel✽Palettes walked in a random direction and looked around. The staff was still busy with Marmalade's ongoing gig. Her eyes later spotted a girl in a yellow frilly dress—identical to Hina's blue one—talking to one of the backstage staff.

"Chisato-chan!" exclaimed Hina while she ran toward the bassist. As the distance was close enough to talk, she continued, "You were taking so long—But forget about that~ What were you guys talking about?"

"Hina-chan. I'm sorry, you must have been worried," said Chisato. "I was just having the staff here explain to me exactly what went wrong today."

"Oh, right." Hina nodded. "All I know is, the other girls are all looking pretty unnerved right now."

"Of course, it was a big problem we faced today. But I need you all to grow stronger from experiences like these." Chisato gave a tender smile. "...So strong that you won't even need me around."

"Huh?"

Chisato chuckled. "However much more experienced I am, there's still a limit to what I can do, after all."

"No, what did you mean by—"

Hina's sentence got cut as Chisato invited her to return to the dressing room. The girl quietly abided and walked behind the actress.

Their debut today was terrible enough as it was, but... Did their bassist just give away a hint that she would bail out the band real soon?

Hina sighed.

The thought didn't sound boppin'.


	9. When a Fleeting Mistake Ruins Everything

**Chapter 9**

**When a Fleeting Mistake Ruins Everything **

Hina threw herself to bed. The girl didn't bother to hide the sky-blue guitar inside the wardrobe like usual. She felt so drained after that failed gig.

The thought of being caught faking their performance was still fresh on Hina's mind. The first minute went well, only to turn into a disaster when the pre-recorded sound abruptly went off.

Neither Mom nor Dad asked anything about Pastel✽Palettes' debut. Seemed like they already knew about her band's predicament, so they only told Hina to rest tonight… Which made her wonder whether the agency live-streamed their performance or maybe someone from the audience managed to record it and uploaded the footage to some video sharing platform.

If so, they didn't only deceive ten thousand people. It might be millions if their incident went viral.

That was quite an achievement for a bunch of inexperienced musicians. An awful one, though.

Hina didn't see her older twin on the way to the bedroom. Sayo might be practicing guitar as usual in the neighboring room. She could only hope that her big sister wouldn't happen to stumble upon any video or news related to Pastel✽Palettes…

The younger Hikawa twins let out a heavy sigh. The intention to play the guitar alongside her sister seemed so bleak now. Sayo, in no way, would be pleased to perform with a fake guitarist such as Hina. And as her thoughts were filled with Pastel✽Palettes' epic failed debut, she slowly went into slumber.

By the time the teenager awoke, she could hear chirpings. It usually came from the neighbor's pet bird. The girl rubbed her jade eyes and blinked a few times before she got up from the bed and took her phone.

Hina's stomach was rumbling. She could use a slice of bread to calm her hungry belly before soaking herself at the shower later.

By the time Hina entered the living room, she spotted Sayo sitting on the sofa. Both of their parents weren't around. It was Sunday, so they might be performing their routine to jog then shop for weekly groceries at the shopping street.

"Morning, Onee-chan." Hina yawned as she walked toward the kitchen.

Sayo didn't reply. Her gaze was fixated on the screen of her phone.

Hina shrugged. It was no breaking news that her older sister was generally unresponsive when it came to interacting with Hina. She took a slice of bread and put it into a toaster.

"What are you watching, Onee-chan?" Hina turned to Sayo again.

"Just some music videos," Sayo finally replied. She swiped her phone's screen and muttered, "A band that's faking their live performance, huh? ...And what's this idol band thing?"

Hina's heart sank. The video's thumbnail didn't show her face, right?

Sayo clicked her tongue. "What a disgrace."

The toaster went ding.

"O-onee-chan, don't play that video!" Hina approached the sofa in panic. "Their music is so not boppidy—I mean, so terrible that you're gonna faint if you hear it!"

Hina prayed frantically in the heart. She begged Jesus, Buddha, or whoever divine deities out there to forbid her older sister from watching that video at any cost.

"...Is that so?" Sayo was puzzled at Hina's exaggerated reaction. She swiped the screen to another section of the video-sharing app and said, "It's a waste of time to watch that kind of charade, anyway."

Hina felt bad to her bandmates for calling them a group of terrible musicians. She couldn't help it. Sayo would dislike her even more if she were caught faking guitar.

No, Hina couldn't let that happen.

While Sayo was watching another music video, Hina checked what circulated on the video-sharing platform. There were a bunch of videos that covered Pastel✽Palettes' debut. She read the titles of the top videos: "We've Been Punked by This Idol Band", "Shame on You, Pastel✽Fails!", "Chisato Shirasagi Can't Tell the Difference Between Acting in Dramas and Performing Music Onstage", and "Lip-syncing is too Mainstream! Here's Arm-syncing Bunch!".

The view count of each video had exceeded one million in less than 24 hours. Pastel✽Palettes had become viral, indeed.

Hina then peeked at thousands of notifications on her phone. It came from her Twitter and Instagram. The girl cleared them all. The abnormal flood of notifications must be connected to the epic fail debut. Hina didn't need to open them to know what kind of comments and mentions were addressed to her. She was ten billion percent sure that all of them were negative comments.

It was common how netizens loved to bully people who made a blunder. They felt no remorse from typing nasty words because the victims were strangers to them. Besides, the bullies felt protected by the so-called anonymity of the internet.

Hina turned off all notifications from her social media apps. No use reading hateful comments from people she didn't even know.

»↠ ≈ ≈ ↞«

Hina Hikawa loved Monday, as opposed to everyone else. Haneoka Girls' High School was a fun place, so she couldn't relate with some of her friends who dreaded returning to school after two days off.

Besides, she wanted to meet her friends and talked about the sorry state of her band and social media accounts.

The high-schooler walked through the streets of her neighborhood. The sky was cloudy and the road was soaked. A light rain had engulfed the surrounding areas earlier this morning, leaving dampness in the air. She glanced at a row of sakura trees along the river; at least the pink petals brightened the area.

Hina approached a bridge and spotted a friend of hers. The classmate leaned her back to the fence, completely unaware of Hina's presence.

"Hey, Kao—"

The teal-haired girl didn't finish her morning greeting. It turned out that her friend was talking over the phone.

"... Of course, it's an honor to be able to comfort a damsel in distress!" Kaoru Seta exclaimed. "Allow me to read a passage from the great bard—hello?" The tall girl looked at the phone screen and chuckled. "What a timid princess."

"Morning, Kaoru-kun!"

Kaoru put the phone into her grey blazer's pocket. "Greetings, little kitten." She waved her hands and spoke with a dramatic tone. "Aah, it must be God's will that allows us to meet here again!"

Hina averted her gaze to the other side of the river. "Hey, you're right!" She pointed at an area beside a three-story building. "That's the spot where I fished for rainbow trouts the other day."

"Ah, yes." Kaoru nodded. "I can still taste the extravagant flavor of your signature roasted rainbow trout."

Hina's eyes were sparkling with excitement. "Ooh, so you really liked it?"

"I'd say your approach to cooking is quite daring." Kaoru smiled. "In fact, it is eye-opening. Now I realize that the wonders of the culinary world are truly endless."

A smug smile was formed on Hina's lips. "Imma make even more revolutionary dishes, then!" The girl raised her fist in enthusiasm. "Be my food taster, Kaoru-kun!"

"I would be more than happy—" Kaoru's sentence stopped halfway. She faked a cough and turned her gaze to the river below. "—oh, I wonder how our little rainbow trout kittens are doing right now? I hope they don't feel too cold down there."

Hina guessed it was a yes, but she was rather confused with Kaoru's sudden interest in rainbow trouts' wellbeing.

"Anyways, have you heard about my band's debut?" asked Hina. She gave a dry laugh and continued, "Our band screwed up big time that people called us Pastel✽Fails now."

"It was tragic indeed..." Kaoru's smile faded. "My heart aches when I saw what people said about the little kittens of Pastel✽Palettes all over the internet."

"Oof, so we become public enemy number one now."

"I might not be able to do much, but..." Kaoru said. "I'm all ears if you want to pour your heart out."

"Thanks! But I'm okay with it, really," Hina grinned. "Welp, internet bullies don't care that people who they mock have feelings… So why should I care about the stuff they say?" The guitarist of Pastel✽Palettes shrugged. "Besides, I don't know any of them."

Kaoru smiled. "You are a strong princess, Hina."

"But to be honest, I kinda fear that Onee-chan will find out about our fake-performance thingy…" Hina said weakly.

"Huh?" Kaoru muttered. "You didn't tell your sister about it?"

"She didn't even know about me playing the guitar because I kinda hid it from her."

"A secret between sisters! How fleetingly so..." Kaoru said. "Are you planning to surprise her with a musical tribute, perchance?"

"Huh? Nope."

"Aah, I could picture the scene right away!" Kaoru rubbed her locks. "It was a starry night. A fair maiden gazed at the sky from a balcony. She let out a sigh because unlike the stars above, she was there all alone. The sound of a Mexican guitar from below then broke the silence …"

Hina was lost in thought as Kaoru's narrative went on and on. Her friend's guess was off the mark, but it might be a good idea to perform something special for Sayo someday… Though, maybe without imitating the famous balcony scene from _Romeo and Juliet _and not involving a mariachi band.

»↠ ≈ ≈ ↞«

The courtyard of Haneoka Girls' High School was lively with students who got around and about to various places on the school premises. It was sunny there; a striking contrast to the weather in Hina's neighborhood.

Hina and Kaoru walked to the main school building's entrance. Not a straight walk, as Kaoru was stopped multiple times by other students who wanted to exchange morning greetings.

_Being the school prince had its disadvantages, huh?_

Hina bet that her classmate didn't have much private time at school.

"Good morning, too…Uh, Hikawa-san," said one of Kaoru's fans.

The other two fans gave eye contact to each other, then followed suit.

That slight pause was kind of odd, even for Hina's standard. No use to pondering about that, though, so she greeted them back with her usual cheeriness.

Everything seemed to be fine until Hina and Kaoru were about to enter the main school building. Hina heard some students chattering about Pastel✽Palettes. Their voices were too loud for a whisper, yet too quiet for a normal talk as well. And they talked about her as if she wasn't there.

"Hey, _that_ band is still on the trending topics."

"The one with Hikawa-san?"

"Speaking of, I'm disappointed with Hikawa-san..."

"I know something's off with her, yet I don't expect her to stoop so low."

Hina stared at the four gossip girls confusedly. She couldn't help but wonder what was their deal. If they had a problem, they should have just talked straight to her. So Hina took a step toward the gossiping girls, but Kaoru managed to slip by her from the side.

"Greetings, little kittens!" Kaoru smiled at the girls. "I see you are having a good time talking to your peers. May I join the fun?"

The four girls were startled in surprise. Their expressions were just like robbers who were caught in the act. Hina wanted to laugh at their funny faces, but she desperately held it. Even she knew that it wasn't the right moment to laugh.

"W-we're... just h-having small talk, Kaoru-sama!" the first student stuttered.

"Yeah, it's nothing interesting—" the second girl added and made eye contact with the other two. "—Right?"

The third gossiper nodded. "It's just a petty talk about..." She gave one of her friends a poke.

The fourth one, realizing the signal, looked around to make up a topic. And just a couple of seconds later, she exclaimed, "Where Amano-sensei bought his eccentric wigs!"

Hina laughed out loud. There was no way she could contain her laughter when the bald world history teacher was mentioned. She recalled the moment when his baldness became public knowledge. Hina spotted that her teacher's wig was crooked, so she took it off and informed him of that. Lots of students were present when the incident took place; making the news traveled fast like a wildfire.

"Hair is such a fleeting existence, isn't it?" Kaoru chuckled. "They grow without us realizing and just fall away with no prior notice…"

Kaoru had a small talk with the gossip girls for a while. After the girls went into the main building, the pony-tailed girl smiled at Hina.

"In a situation like this, it would be wiser to give them a friendly talk." Kaoru glanced at the gossip girls who walked away. "It'll show them that you aren't bothered by their opinion."

"And making them panic!" Hina exclaimed. "You're boppin', Kaoru-kun! I would never have thought of that approach."

Kaoru tilted her head. "What were you going to do, then?"

"Imma slap them!" Hina grinned, which made Kaoru gasp. "JK, JK~ I just wanted to know why they didn't say those things directly at me."

"M-my, that would create quite a scene…" Kaoru touched her chin. Her face then turned serious. "But jokes aside, Hina, I would suggest you lay low until people are bored talking about your band's incident."

"That's not so boppidy…" Hina pouted. "What if there's someone who mocks me right in front of me?"

Kaoru chuckled. "Now that would be a different issue, isn't it?"

"So, can I slap them like the scenes in soap operas?"

"...Please don't slap anyone."

The two then entered the main school building. Rows of medium-sized lockers filled the entryway. About a dozen students from different grades were changing their loafers into indoor slippers. The morning routine was also a chance to talk about various stuff.

The 2-A girls opened their own lockers. Hina reached for her indoor slippers; while Kaoru was, once again, approached by little kittens. The teal-haired girl switched her shoes and thought that it must be kinda tiring to constantly deal with people.

"But you know, Hina was—"

Hina heard a familiar voice from the neighboring aisle. She stored the loafers and focused her ears to hear whatever Lisa Imai had to say next. Having just learned that she was a hot topic in school made the girl feel kinda restless whenever someone mentioned her name.

"—I mean… A couple of days before, Hina played her guitar and sang Pastel✽Palettes' song with ease," Lisa continued. "I saw it with my own eyes."

"Maybe so…" replied another girl whose voice didn't Hina recognize. "It doesn't change the fact that she faked her gig, though."

"You're right, ahaha..." Lisa giggled awkwardly. "But w-well, there must be some reason why her band was forced to lip-sync and mime the instruments!"

Yet another girl said, "Did you mean, they want to attract people with their whole idol band genre, but don't want to go the extra mile?"

"Um…" Lisa muttered.

"Putting a famous actress and rising model is enough to garner fans." The first student snickered. "It doesn't matter if they can't play instruments."

What they said irritated Hina, yet deep down she knew it was the truth. The whole thing was a publicity stunt. Otherwise, why would the agency let Pastel✽Palettes debut without proper musical training? They even told Hina and her bandmates to play pretend band right from the start.

The girls parted ways. Hina caught a glimpse of two strangers who mocked her band—one was a third-year student, while the other went to the same grade as the guitarist. A moment later Lisa appeared from behind the neighboring locker. She just went straight to the hallway and didn't see Hina or Kaoru.

Hina walked past Kaoru (who was busily quoting Shakespeare to her fans) and called Lisa.

The brunette turned around. "Morning—whoa, Hina?!" Her face was bewildered at the sight of Hina. "You heard that… I suppose?"

"Yup, clear as day!"

"I'm so sorry..." Lisa avoided eye contact. "I couldn't refute their arguments."

"Nah, no need to apologize, Lisa-chi!" Hina shook her head. "What they said was true, anyway."

"Hina…."

"Why the long face, little kittens?" asked Kaoru. She wasn't accompanied by anyone. In fact, her fans were already dispersed.

Hina giggled. "Do we look that depressed?"

"Your face is reminiscent of Juliet when she wakes up from the deathlike-coma and finds that Romeo had died from poison."

Lisa stared at Kaoru's feet and cleared her throat. "...Hey, you might want to turn around."

"I get that Kaoru-kun's long legs are boppin', but I kinda wonder if you have a fetish for legs, Lisa-chi…"

"Wha—no!" Lisa looked away. "I just wanted to ask Kaoru to switch her loafers with indoor slippers!"

Kaoru looked at her own shoes. "Oh, my apologies… I shall replace my footwear at once and find a fleeting broom." She rushed back to the shoe lockers.

Hina poked Lisa's arm. "Someone's in her class rep mode."

"Do I look like the part already?" The vice class representative of 2-A wore a proud smile. "I just point out a basic etiquette, though…" Lisa said. "Besides, it's our friends who will clean the floor later."

Although Haneoka was a private elite school, they didn't have janitors. The girls were expected to clean their own classes and various areas, just like students in most schools out there. Funding wasn't the issue. Japanese people were simply taught to be clean and tidy since childhood, that's why.

Kaoru never returned. Based on what the prince said before leaving, she might spare her time to clean an area between the lockers and the hallway. So Hina and Lisa went ahead to their classroom.


	10. Easy Come, Easy Go

**Chapter 10**

**Easy Come, Easy Go**

"_Not bad, CiRCLE!" exclaimed a girl who wielded a blazing red guitar. Her eyes, that were as crimson the musical instrument, were brimming with passion. "The next one's going to be the last song for today."_

_Hina Hikawa held her breath as she watched the next scene that unfolded before her. She didn't know that performing on stage could be this cool. The rock band's performance was so intense that it mesmerized her who stood in the audience's row._

_Hina clenched her hands. Her mind was filled with resolve._

_The high school freshman later went round and about the lobby of the live house. With a guitar gig bag on the back, the live house staff misunderstood Hina as a member of one of the bands that performed today._

"_Huh? I don't belong to any band—ooh, there they are!"_

_Five girls appeared from the dressing room. They were the members of Afterglow, the rock band that captured Hina's heart a while before._

"_Hey, let's stop by Yamabuki Bakery~," said a girl who wore a grey hoodie. Her name was "Mochaccino" or something, Hina supposed._

_A redhead drummer laughed. "Didn't you eat five or six beef croquettes before the gig?" The tall girl scrambled her bandmate's hair._

"_Mochaccino", unbothered by how messy her hair had become, deadpanned, "Moca-chan's energy was drained by that guitar solo~"_

"_Hey, Afterglow!" Hina exclaimed as she approached the five girls. _

_The vocalist of Afterglow turned to Hina. "Huh, aren't you—"_

"_You guys are zappin' the stage just now!" Hina exclaimed. "I went ba-dump just from watching that boppidy gig!"_

"—_Hikawa-san from the high school department..."_

"_That genius Hikawa-senpai?" The keyboardist of the rock band gasped._

"_That's me!" Hina gave a salute. "No need to be that formal, tho. Just call me Hina!"_

_The indie rock band's personnel were students from the same school as Hina but in the middle school division. Though, they would join Hina in high school in a few weeks._

_Afterglow's bassist smiled. "Hika—Hina-senpai," She looked at the gig bag that Hina carried on her back. "I didn't know you're in a band."_

"_Oh, right! The band!"_

_And the next second Hina already grabbed the vocalist's hands, making the middle schooler flustered and muttered inaudibly._

"_Please let me join your boppin' band—" Hina said. "—Mitarai-chan!"_

"_...Mitarai who?"_

»↠ ≈ ≈ ↞«

Hina was lost in thought as she ascended the stairs. In fact, she didn't even know why she suddenly recalled an event that took place about a month ago.

The girl wondered if it was due to what the gossip girls said a moment ago….

Did she regret joining her current band? Would things have gone better if only she joined an indie band Afterglow? There might be no publicity stunt that ended in a disaster like what the agency had made her band do. Too bad, Afterglow had more than enough guitarists. Having three guitars would be overkill, they said.

Hina and Lisa ascended the stairs to reach their classroom that was located on the third floor. As they were approaching the flight of stairs that led to the third floor, Hina could hear a familiar voice just ahead.

"Did you guys know?" said a girl in a monotonous voice. "Sometimes, the number of steps here would increase from twelve to thirteen."

"S-stop it, Moca!" exclaimed another girl. "We don't need that kind of trivia..." Her voice was brash, yet shaky.

"Ho-ho, Tomo-chin's scared~," said Moca at a super slow pace.

Hina's eyes widened. Who would have thought that her little recollection would serve as a sign of an incoming encounter? The second-year student fastened her ascend, skipping two steps at a time. And as the girl caught sight of three first-year students with their signature green plaid skirt, she called them.

"Morning, Afterglow!"

The trio turned around and greeted Hina. As Lisa came afterward, they said hi to the brunette as well.

"Hey, Moca, Tomoe!" Lisa followed suit. She took a look at the third underclassman and asked Moca, "I guess this is Ran?"

Ran nodded. "Hello, Lisa-san. Thanks for taking care of Moca and Tomoe." She glanced at the girl beside her and whispered, "...Okay, what did you tell her, Moca?"

"Mm, there are too many stories that I shared with Lisa-san." The lead guitarist's sleepy tone of speaking matched perfectly with her droopy eyes. She nodded and said, "Moca-chan only tell good stories of cute ol' Ran, of course. Like when you cried because Santa-san was ..."

Everyone giggled at Moca's story, except the girl who became the topic of embarrassing childhood memories. Ran pouted and her face was beet red.

The five then moved to the hallway of the third floor where second-year classes were located (it would bother everyone if five people were standing on the stairway). As the conversation went on it was revealed that Lisa, Tomoe, and Moca were mutual friends. The three then talked about one another; how Lisa and Moca were at the part-time workplace, as well as how Lisa and Tomoe were at the dance club.

Ran let out a sigh of relief. "Thank God they switched topics."

Hina turned to the girl with jet-black hair—whom she mistook with as "Mitarai" when they first met—and grinned. "Eh, why? You were adorbs as a kid!" Hina exclaimed. "I wanna hear more, actually~"

"N-not you too." Ran looked away. "Stop teasing me already, jeez."

It was kinda cute that Ran, a girl with red-colored highlighted hair who was often labeled as punk, was so prone to be teased and became flustered as easily too.

"Hey, hey, Ran-chan, how's the band?"

"Just the same as always," Ran replied in an apathetic tone.

"Did you guys have another gig during the winter holidays?" Hina asked enthusiastically. "You, Moca-chan, and Tomoe-chan were zappin' with the guitars and drums last time!"

The vocalist and rhythm guitarist of Afterglow just listened as Hina went on complimenting how boppin' the rock band was.

"Then, bzzzt! Moca-chan's guitar solo—"

"—Hina-san, sorry for cutting your talk."

"Mm?"

"I just want to confirm something." The junior with red highlighted hair looked at Hina straight in the eye. "Were you serious about joining Afterglow back then?"

Hina didn't see that coming, yet the girl nodded anyway. "Uh-huh." She grinned. "Anything's serious if it's for Onee-chan!"

"...Is that so?" muttered Ran. "I really thought that you were committed to the guitar back then, but it looks like I was wrong."

"Huh?" Hina was dumbfounded. "What are you talking about, Ran-chan?"

"You do whatever it takes to stand on a big stage, even if it means that you're miming the guitar." Ran's voice was quiet, yet stung. "And you don't seem to show any remorse for it."

"Wait, it's not like that!" Hina exclaimed.

"Really?" said Ran. "Your actions tell me otherwise."

"That's…"

"Later, Hina-san." Ran walked past Hina and ascended the stairs to the fourth floor.

"...Okay, what just happened?" said Lisa who had stood beside Hina.

Tomoe and Moca quickly apologized on behalf of their friend. Hina didn't know how to respond to that. In fact, she didn't fully understand why Ran was pissed off. Everything seemed to be fine... until Ran asked her that question.

"Man, that Ran…" Tomoe rubbed the back of her head. "I told her not to bring up the miming instruments topic, let alone lashing out at Hina-senpai…"

"Says Tomo-chin who's got a hot-head herself~" teased Moca.

The drummer of Afterglow sighed. "Now is not the time for jokes, Moca."

Moca quietly nodded. She took a whole fluffy Hokkaido milk toast from a paper bag and had a big bite.

"I just talked about how you guys were boppidy during the previous gig, that's all..." said Hina. "Ran-chan suddenly asked whether I was serious about joining Afterglow the other day and I said yes. But then she scolded me the next second," she explained. "I honestly dunno what triggered Ran-chan, though…."

"Mm… 'Your actions tell me otherwise', huh…" muttered Lisa.

"What's that, Lisa-senpai?" asked Tomoe confusedly.

"Oh, nothing." Lisa smiled. "I just thought, Ran's words before leaving might be the key."

"Ran was furious because Hina-senpai talked about Afterglow's gig so casually after Hina-senpai herself just failed big-time with _that_ incident~"

Hina and the other two turned to Moca. The sleepy girl was munching at melon bread now. Like, how fast did she eat? Didn't she just start consuming a whole toast like half a minute ago?

...But Moca's mysterious eating pace wasn't important for now.

"I still don't get what went wrong." Hina crossed her arms and wore a puzzled look. "Can you explain more, Moca-chan? I suck at reading other people's moods, you see..." She admitted with a sheepish smile.

"Fufufu, let Moca-chan-sensei explain it to you, then~," said the silver-haired underclassman with a mouth full of bread.

"Finish your bread first, duh," Tomoe scolded.

"Aye, aye, Sir~"

Moca ate the remaining three-quarters of melon bread in just one mouthful, making Hina gasped in surprise. Lisa and Tomoe, meanwhile, were chill at the bizarre sight before them.

"To put it bluntly~" The guitarist of Afterglow began; still with her lazy way of speaking. "What PasuPare did was an outright insult to other musicians~" Moca nodded. "Yup, that's the simplest explanation."

"Eeh...?!" Hina exclaimed. "We never badmouth other bands, honest! In fact, we haven't met other bands at all—" She shook her head. "—except Marmalade, our senior idol group!"

"Not explicitly like that, Hina." Lisa giggled. "...Well, I think I get the issue here. Please correct me if I'm wrong, Moca." The brunette rubbed the back of her head.

Moca nodded as she munched at yet another bread.

"What ticked Ran off was the fact that you guys made a pro debut with very minimal effort—only lip-syncing and miming a pre-recorded track—while a lot of musicians out there went through thousands of hours of practice and crazy stuff just to be able to perform in a small live house, let alone a concert hall filled with ten thousand audiences."

Hina dwelled upon Lisa's words. If she compared it to her friend's example, Pastel✽Palettes' road to their debut was way too convenient… And the fact that their moment of glory was short-lived might be due to that; just like the old saying: "Easy come, easy go."

Lisa smiled. "I know you're having difficulties relating to that, but... You can start being considerate from now on, Hina."

"Our early days were no walk in the park either," Tomoe added. "You see—aside from Tsugu and me—we didn't have any experience in music." She smiled in reminiscence. "We gathered on the rooftop after school to learn instruments, writing lyrics, and composing music... Be it breezy spring or scorching summer."

"Good ol' days~," said Moca.

"Welp, we still do that once or twice a week, though." Tomoe chuckled.

Hard work.

That phrase was a mystery to Hina. Throughout her sixteen years of life, she never experienced hardships. She could learn new skills with little to no effort. A gift that acquired her the title "natural genius" from people around her. Although, Hina herself didn't realize what was so special about her talent.

But putting that aside, she should apologize to Ran the next time they met. The teal-haired girl didn't realize that she had offended the underclassman as a musician.

»↠ ≈ ≈ ↞«

"Hey, Kaoru-kun."

"Yes, little kitten?"

"Can you disguise yourself as me tomorrow?" asked Hina. "The school isn't so boppidy anymore, but I don't want Mom and Dad to find out that I'm skipping school."

Kaoru wore a dumbfounded face.

"That… would be quite a challenge." Kaoru avoided eye contact. "I need to find out a trick on how to make myself look shorter."

"Hey, no need to be so serious!" Hina laughed. "I'm just joking~"

Hina and Kaoru walked through the courtyard of Haneoka Girls' High School. The school was over just a few minutes back and having no club meetings this afternoon, they went straight home.

The rest of that school day didn't go any better. Shortly after Moca and Tomoe left, one of Hina's classmates—who was always at odds with her since they were put in the same class—made another scene. The band drama made her classmate question the legitimacy of Hina as the top student of Haneoka and wondered if her faking business was also applied to academic fields as well… Cheating on exams, for instance.

Hina pouted as she recalled the scene from a few hours back. She could take it if her classmate only addressed Pastel✽Palettes' fake performance, but to accuse her of cheating in other fields was kind of unbelievable.

The false accusation spread like wildfire. Now, most students in the school suspect Hina as a fake genius and they didn't bother to murmur around when she was in sight. Including now, where a couple of sports club members were whispering around as Hina and Kaoru were passing by.

Hina didn't give a damn about what they said nevertheless.

"Are you still pondering what Satomi said, perchance?" asked Kaoru, making the idol band guitarist's mind return to the present time.

"Whoa, you read me like a book!" Hina giggled. "I never know you're a psychic! A boppin' one, at that!"

Kaoru smiled. "My, you hold me in too high regard."

"Welp, about Satomi-chan…" Hina said. "It's not like I was _that_ bothered by her accusation—and I don't hate her after all that, don't you worry about us, Kaoru-kun!" She gave her friend a bright smile. "I just need to ace the exams as usual to prove her wrong~"

"Hey, that other school girl looked like Hikawa-san, isn't she?"

Hina turned her head at the mention of her name and caught sight of two third-year students chilling below a sakura tree. At last, Hina could hear something other than fake performance and cheating exams.

"Yeah, but her air is the total opposite of Hikawa-san, huh..."

Whatever did they mean by "a girl who looked like Hikawa-san", though? Well, Sayo would come into mind, yet to think that Hina's older twin would set foot to Haneoka… No, the probability was so slim, just like the SSR drop rates in a _gacha_ game. And it was Sayo herself who forbade her from visiting each other's school.

But how could she be so wrong….

"Hina Hikawa, we need to talk."

Hina couldn't believe her eyes.

Sayo Hikawa, her identical twin, was waiting for her in front of the school gate.


	11. Make a Fool of Myself

**Chapter 11**

**Make a Fool of Myself**

* * *

Hina Hikawa spotted a figure who stood by the arched gateway of Haneoka Girls' High School. Her sandy, sailor-like uniform from another school attracted attention. Haneoka students murmured amongst themselves; noticing the similarity between the stranger and Hina, the top student of their prep school.

The said girl, on the other hand, didn't seem to notice the stares from dozens of girls who walked past her. The student from Hanasakigawa leaned to the wall; fiddling with her phone and probably listened to the music as well because she wore earphones.

Hina couldn't believe her eyes. The one and only twin sister of hers visited Hina at school. The Sayo Hikawa who once stated that they shouldn't get on each other's hair once they started high school. The little sister pinched her arm and it hurt.

So this wasn't a dream. Hina smiled as warmth filled her heart. The sight of Sayo was more than enough to brighten her day.

Sayo averted her gaze from the screen. The twins' identical pair of green eyes then met.

"Onee-chan!" Hina's eyes went sparkly. "Whatcha doin' here?"

The girl removed the earphone and said, "Hina Hikawa, we need to talk." She didn't share Hina's enthusiasm and wore the stoic expression that she always had instead.

Talk? Did she hear that right?

Hina dropped her jaw. She wouldn't be surprised if hailstorms would befall Tokyo tonight because Sayo was acting so out of character.

"Y-you bet we can, Onee-chan!" Hina stuttered. "Imma talk with you until midnight—if you want, of course!"

Sayo eyed the person beside Hina. "...I see you're planning to go home with your friend," she said, brushing the little sister's question aside.

"Friend?" Hina was dumbfounded. "Wait, what friend?" The younger twin turned her head, noticing that Kaoru stood beside her. "Oh, right! Kaoru-kun!"

"Are you forgetting me, little kitten?" Kaoru asked with a shaky voice. She touched her chest in a dramatic way and continued, "Aah, my poor fragile heart can't take it…!"

"Oof... Sorry, Kaoru-kun!" said Hina. "I didn't mean to ignore you..."

_It's just that, I'm too baffled at Onee-chan's visit_, Hina thought.

"I'm just joking, little kitten." Kaoru chuckled. "But how come you never mentioned your sister being a Yamato Nadeshiko, the embodiment of true Japanese beauty?"

"A what, now?" Hina laughed.

Sayo, meanwhile, was rendered speechless by Kaoru's statement.

Kaoru, probably unaware or chose to dismiss Sayo's reaction toward her flirtatious remark, then introduced herself as she extended a hand.

Sayo shook hands with Kaoru. "I'm Sayo Hikawa. Pleased to meet you, Seta-san." The long-haired girl didn't smile as her new acquaintance did, yet her tone was friendlier than when she spoke with Hina. "My little sister must've bothered you with her antics... I apologize on her behalf."

»↠ ≈ ≈ ↞«

The sky had turned into the color of apricot when the Hikawa twins walked to a tram station. It was the transportation mode which the younger twin usually used to commute home. Hina was about to enter the station when Sayo suggested going on foot instead, which she agreed to right away. Their home was only two stations away from Haneoka, anyway.

"Hey, hey, Onee-chan! How long has it been since we last walked home together?"

"...Beats me," Sayo said, avoiding eye contact with Hina. She glanced at the passing tram instead.

"Mm, I think we still go anywhere together up 'til the first semester of sixth grade…" Hina touched her chin with her index finger as she tried to recall the past. "But then we stopped hanging out after school…" She smiled bitterly.

Sayo just walked without uttering a single word.

"Oh! How about I come to your school next time?" asked Hina. "I heard there's a boppin' curry restaurant near Hanasakigawa. We should eat there sometimes! Imma eat the carrots for you~"

Still silent.

Hina shrugged. Her sister was being weird. Sayo stated they needed to talk, yet she barely said anything. She wondered what went wrong… Did she say something that offended Sayo?

Hina thought really hard.

Was it something about carrots that she mentioned just now? Did her big sister, who hated carrots, suddenly loved the veggie and was reluctant in sharing her portion to Hina?

The twins walked past a bridge that stood side by side with the tram railways. Rows of cherry blossom trees lined up around the river. Students from various schools around the area could be seen here and there, as Haneoka was located in an educational complex.

"Do you like carrots now?" Hina asked. "I won't take them from you, so don't be mad, okay…?"

Sayo turned her head to Hina and let out an inaudible mutter. Her puzzled expression blatantly said, "What the hell are you talking about?", though.

"So… what do you want to talk about, Onee-chan?"

Sayo stopped walking. "I guess it's best to talk here, then." She let out a sigh and proceeded, "I don't want mom to hear this, after all…"

Hina tilted her head in confusion.

Sayo pulled a phone from her school bag. She fiddled with it for a moment, before showing its screen to Hina.

"Explain this."

Hina's eyes widened as she saw a certain video displayed on the screen. It was the footage that she feared most.

"I… It's not like what you think, Onee-chan!"

Sayo lowered her phone and looked away.

"But I played for real, believe me! The agency forced us to fake our perf—"

"—Hina, stop—"

"—It—"

"—I didn't ask for that!"

Hina was startled. Some passersby stopped walking and turned their attention to the pair of twins as well. She could hear them murmuring something about family disputes.

"...As a guitarist myself—" Sayo lowered her voice. She looked straight at Hina now. "—of course, I can tell that you strummed the guitar accordingly to the notes."

Hina's shoulder declined.

"But what I can't forgive is the fact that you, my twin sister, are willing to take part in that fake performance!" A combination of anger and disappointment was apparent on Sayo's face. "How could you… the natural genius, make a fool of yourself?!"

"I… I just want to play the guitar with you…"

"Why do you have to always imitate me? Don't you have your own will?"

Hina couldn't find any word to say.

"And you intended to imitate me with that charade? Do you think a band is some sort of joke?"

"N-no! I didn't mean to…"

Sayo clicked her tongue. "To think that you lowered yourself to this level…"

Hina could only look down to the ground. She didn't dare to look at what kind of face her sister wore right now. Her sight went blurry as tears were formed. It would only take a little while before she would shed grief-stricken tears.

"I regret having you as a little sister."

Hina broke into tears. She could hear her twin's footsteps, farther and farther each passing seconds. The high-schooler fell to her knees. Of course, Sayo would wish to stay away after all that disappointment.

Hina raised her head and saw the blurry figure of Sayo, walking away without a care for her. The girl extended her hand, though knowing fully well that she wouldn't ever reach Sayo.

The girl stared at the ground. "I want us to be boppidy best friends like we did as kids…" Hina said between sobs. Her voice was so weak that it sounded more like a whisper.

The time seemed to have stopped while Hina weep. She just didn't care if people were watching and talking about her emotional meltdown. The dearest person to her just stated that she, indeed, hated Hina.

It was the fact that Hina realized, deep down, yet refused to acknowledge. Up until now…

"—na."

It was faint, but Hina could hear someone was calling out a name.

"—Hina-chan!"

As it became clearer, she realized that someone was calling out her name. And the voice sounded familiar to her ears.

Hina looked up as she wiped her tears. She caught the figure of a pink-haired girl, half-kneeling in front of her. That person was Aya Maruyama, the vocalist as well as the leader of her band. Aya's face was filled with worry.

"A-aya-chan…!"

Hina hugged her bandmate. She hoped Aya's presence could cease her sadness, even just for a little. But her tears flowed even more instead. The girl was sobbing so much that she found it hard to breathe.

Aya could only hug Hina tightly in silence and rubbed her hair.

»↠ ≈ ≈ ↞«

"Here, Hina-chan."

Hina took a can of strawberry milk from Aya. She looked at the can in reminiscence. It was the milk that she and Sayo used to drink as kids. Her heart stung a bit from recalling the good old days, but she was so thirsty to opt for drinks. So Hina drank it without fussing.

Hina and Aya were sitting in a nearby park. It was quite lively there; with children playing around and adults walking their dogs in the vicinity. Hina wondered when was the last time she and Sayo played together.

Her tears were on the verge of forming up again, but she quickly wiped it with the sleeve of her uniform. The teal-haired girl let out a sigh. Her eyes must've been swollen. What would her mom say if she were coming home later?

Aya then asked what happened just before. Hina told every bad stuff that had occurred since morning; from Haneoka students who bad-mouthed her to what Sayo said before leaving her alone.

Aya hugged Hina and said, "You're not alone, Hina-chan!" She wore a glum face the next second. "I was called 'lip-syncing girl' and other mean stuff too at school." Her lips then formed a bitter smile. "I don't know what people at my part-time job will say later… I was about to go there when I saw you back then."

"And…" Aya let go of the hug. "Regarding Sayo-chan finding out about you…" She bowed and proceeded, "I'm so sorry! It's partly my fault!"

Hina raised one of her eyebrows in confusion.

"You know that we're classmates, right?" Aya said. "When a couple of my classmates were talking about our incident, one of them went like… Um…" She hesitated for a second. "She said that PasuPare's guitarist looked awfully similar to Sayo-chan and showed your photo to her."

Hina's heart sank. To think that being twins would backfire at her… But still, they share the same surname, so people would realize their relationship sooner or later.

"What should we do?" asked Hina. "Many people hate us now… And there's Onee-chan, too…"

Aya stared at her strawberry milk can without uttering a single word.

"...Should I quit the band?" Hina said. "It's no use if I can't play the guitar for real. Onee-chan will hate me even more if I continue playing-pretend."

"N-no, please don't!" Aya exclaimed. "...Is what I wish to ask, but I don't have a right to keep you from quitting." She let out a dry laugh. "Not from a band like this."

"How about you?" Hina asked. "Planning to quit, too?"

"T-that's…" Aya stuttered. She looked down and weakly uttered, "I don't know what to do either…"

The girls sighed in unison and stared at the sunset. Their situation didn't look so good….

»↠ ≈ ≈ ↞«

**A/N:** Been three months since I last updated this series! I don't have other excuses except for prolonged procrastination. So sorry! I'm going to try to discipline myself more in the future. Please bear with me and stay tuned!

P.S. I plan to end the first arc (this painful stage of Hikawa twins' relationship, which is agony to write) in a few chapters, then proceed to their reconciling moments.


	12. Pasupa Revolutions

**Chapter 12**

**Pasupa Revolutions**

* * *

Hina and the rest of Pastel✽Palettes members went to the agency first thing in the morning. Being students, they needed to take a day off from school, which was great. The school wasn't so boppin' anymore; with practically everyone talking bad stuff about her, even made up false rumors… except for a couple of close friends like Kaoru and Lisa.

"All appointments have been canceled." Suzuko Miyagi, the manager of Pastel✽Palettes dropped a bomb. "...For the foreseeable future."

The girls gasped in surprise.

Although Hina had a feeling that today's meeting would be full of bad news, she didn't expect that. Prior to that disastrous debut, their schedule was packed with promotions and training (in order to fake the live performance so well that people won't realize it). But now their calendar was totally blank.

Hina curled her hair in boredom. Why wouldn't the agency split the band altogether?

Miyagi explained that the management decided to put Pastel✽Palettes away from the media, which made Aya raised her concern about the band's future.

"...All I can say is that no decision has yet been made. In the meantime, I need you all to begin music practice as soon as possible," Miyagi answered. "After yesterday's problems, it has become apparent that you must at least be able to play, for real, all of the songs we currently have."

Did Hina hear that right? There would be a chance for them to play music for real? No pre-recorded stuff anymore?

Hina gave it a thought. Sayo was especially disappointed because Hina was involved in a lip-syncing and miming instruments charade. If Pastel✽Palettes could perform without trickery like what they did before, Sayo would change her mind and forgave Hina.

Her bandmates were in a state of confusion, especially Eve who questioned the agency's erratic decisions. Aya, Maya, and Chisato calm her down in turns; while Miyagi left the meeting room.

Aya suddenly gasped. "What's this…?"

"What is it, Aya-san?" Maya approached the vocalist, who showed some kind of a web portal on the phone.

Hina who happened to sit beside Aya didn't need to raise from her seat. She peeked on Aya's phone and read the headline, "Pastel-Colored Failure! Lip-Syncing Pretenders Caught In First Show?"

Chisato and Eve joined in as Aya scrolled the page to the comment section. Hundreds of comments were posted there. Most of them, if not all, were nasty comments addressed to all members. Chisato, being the most famous of five, received the most hate.

Hina didn't have the chance to read the online comments before, due to already uninstalling the social media apps on her phone beforehand and she didn't bother to access the news as well. But seeing what the netizens wrote firsthand was kind of disheartening.

"Wow. Those are some pretty mean comments," Hina commented.

"Pretty mean, yeah…" Aya laughed dryly. "But they are right, I suppose…" She wore a glum face. "I am inexperienced, and I am just pretending…"

"Even so, there are nicer ways of saying than this." Eve's shoulders declined. "People shouldn't hurt other people like this!"

"You're right," Chisato added. "But that's just how the media is, I'm afraid."

Although being mocked by netizens, Chisato still kept her calm and composed attitude. Hina guessed it might be due to her being an actress. The blonde must've good at concealing her emotion… Which was kind of sad, if that was the case.

"Hey, Chisato-chan," said Hina.

"Yes?"

"Don't hate comments irritate you?"

Chisato stood motionlessly but later smiled. "Oh, where's this coming from?"

"Nah, just curious about how a pro handles this kind of stuff." Hina raised her shoulders. "That's all~"

Aya, Eve, and Maya turned their attention to Chisato. Surely, they would want to know as well, as fellow people who received the same backlash.

Chisato chuckled. "It's a lie if I were to say 'I'm not affected', but..." She paused for a second before resumed, "You won't survive long in the entertainment industry if you keep dwelling in frustration." The actress put her right hand on the hip and wore a confident smile. "If I'm allowed to quote one of the hate comments: 'Actors gonna act', then there's 'Haters gonna hate' as well."

"Whoa, you're so boppidy!" Hina's eyes were sparkling in excitement.

"I see…" Aya nodded. "In other words, don't let haters knock you down."

Hina crossed her hands. "So… Every move we make from now on, the media will be writing articles like this about us…" She rubbed her chin. "And that must be why we were told to stay out of the spotlight, mm?"

"I understand... I was told about all of this in my training." Aya nodded. "It's okay. Even the most loved idols have their own share of backlashes!" She forced a reassuring smile.

"But it's not okay!" exclaimed Eve. "I... I cannot just let them say these things about us!" She clenched her fist and raised it to the air. "Aya-san, Hina-san, Maya-san, Chisato-san...!" she called the remaining band members. "Let's practice and practice and practice until we can get back out, performing again!"

"Sounds good to me." Hina chuckled. "I was always looking forward to performing on a huge stage somewhere!"

Someday, somewhere alongside Sayo.

"I can't let it end like this either…" Maya said. "I made my decision to do what I can to support Pastel✽Palettes as your drummer…."

Aya became all-teary. "You guys...!" She quickly wiped her eyes and rose from the chair. "Okay! Let's work our absolute hardest... And make ourselves a whole new Pastel✽Palettes!"

»↠ ≈ ≈ ↞«

"Hina-chan, did you eat my rice ball again?"

"What rice ball?" Hina shook her head. "I see no rice ball~"

Aya pouted. "Says one who's got rice with salmon flakes on her cheek!"

Pastel✽Palettes members were having a break at their agency's lounge. The room was filled with comfy colorful sofas, accompanied by lots of cute pillows. The company placed snacks and drinks on the table that were free to take. A coffee maker and teapot were also provided.

Despite the free food, Hina and the others brought their own favorites as well. Though, it often resulted in fridge drama and Hina was the culprit for most of the time, due to her being a glutton.

Things had been great since Pastel✽Palettes vowed to make a comeback. The girls underwent music lessons and extra training every day, including weekends.

Hina wanted to say that everything was going to be alright, but Chisato rarely showed up and she even overheard the bassist's intention to leave the group. No use to be overly worried, though. Hina wasn't exactly married to Pastel✽Palettes anyway. The only reason she was still in the band was to prove to Sayo that she was serious in playing the guitar after that blunder. Maybe that as well as teasing Aya, listening to Maya's guide about sound equipment, or performing ninja techniques with Eve.

Aya put her phone aside and sighed. "Chisato-chan can't join our practice again…"

Hina gawked. Forget about Chisato; where did Aya put her phone just now?

"Aya-san, you just put your phone into a fridge…" Maya, who also happened to see the scene, informed the vocalist.

"I see! You're trying to prove the myth about storing batteries in the fridge!" said Eve, being pure and full of curiosity as always.

"Say what?" Aya opened the fridge and gasped as she found her pink-cased phone there, amongst cakes and puddings. She quickly grabbed it and said, "Aaa, I'm so clumsy!"

The girls resumed their practice afterward.

Hina, already mastered their songs before the disastrous debut, didn't do anything much except doing run through with her bandmates and teasing Aya. A friend of hers who did well was Maya, who even beat the drums for their pre-recorded track used during the debut (that's an experienced studio musician for you). Eve used to play the piano when she was a kid, so she was relatively quick to pick up the keytar. Chisato was a mystery; even though she rarely came, once the actress went to their music lessons, she was able to play her part really well (maybe she was a genius like Hina?).

And there was Aya...

"I'm Pastel✽Palettes pretty pink charm, Aya!" The twin-tailed girl did a dual finger gun pose. "Hehe "

Hina wore a teasing smile and said, "Again with that weird pose?"

"It's supposed to be a cute pose, you know…" Aya fidgeted. "Why doesn't everyone get that?"

Aya Maruyama, the vocalist as well as the leader of Pastel✽Palettes. The vocalist was always the first to arrive and the last to leave whenever the band had a rehearsal. Yet... She was the slowest to learn amongst all the band members, repeatedly made the same mistake, and so dang clumsy. It was a total mystery for Hina as of why Aya worked really hard but didn't manage to receive good results.

Aya, Eve, Maya, even Chisato piqued her interest. Their personality was way different from Hina's. And it made the teal-haired girl grow curious about them.

As Hina pondered, someone unexpected opened the rehearsal studio's door.

"Hello, everyone."

"Chisato-chan?!" said Aya. I thought you're in the shooting location?"

"Yes, I'm about to go there in a few minutes. I just want to stop by and share some good news." Chisato smiled. "Take a look at this." She showed a flyer, which caught everyone's attention.

"Fresh Idol Festival Vol. 8...?" said Hina.

"I know this event! Only idols that debuted in the last one year are allowed to take part," Aya explained. "A lot of really famous idols caught their big break here. It's a very important event for the industry."

"Wow, you sure know a lot about the idol world huh, Aya-chan? That's our leader for you!" Hina grinned. She looked at the flyer once again and averted her gaze to Chisato in confusion. "But why are we talking about this event?"

"Because we are going to be performing at it."

Hina and the rest of Pastel✽Palettes members cheered excitedly. Hina's chance to prove herself to Sayo finally came! She turned her gaze. Aya must be as elated; if not more. Hina recalled that the vocalist once said she had spent a few years as an idol trainee… A way longer period of waiting.

"It's thanks to all of our hard work!" Aya's eyes went teary. "I'm so glad we spent all this time rehearsing...!"

Hina then realized Chisato's smile had faded. She wondered what caused the actress's sudden change of expression in this joyful moment.

"Even our music teacher was surprised at how far we've come." Aya wiped her eyes. "It just goes to show how important dedication is…."

"Do you really believe that we got this through hard work and dedication?"

No one was able to answer Chisato's question.

"Yes, your teacher is impressed with your improvement. That is no doubt thanks to the great effort you've all put in," Chisato stated. "But tell me... What part of this is any different from what you already did previously?"

Aya fidgeted. "I… That's…"

"You're doing all the same things as last time, but now suddenly you have a live performance lined up. I wonder what could be." Chisato crossed her arms and eyed Aya sharply. "If effort was all it takes to get your debut, you'd have graduated a long time ago now, wouldn't you?"

"But…" Aya weakly said. "If I hadn't made any effort at all, then...!

"Enough with the effort. Enough with the dreams." Chisato shook her head. "You know… Dreams don't come true through hard work alone."

Aya looked at the floor in silence. Eve stood up for Aya, while Hina and Maya patted the aspiring idol in the back. Chisato gazed at Aya and let out a sigh.

"I've got another appointment. Let's give this live performance our all."

The rest of the band members looked at Chisato's exit without saying a word.

"Aya-chan…" said Hina. "Are you okay?"

Aya cried instead. Hina gave her friend another pat in the head. The guitarist experienced this too a while ago. No matter what Aya said back then, Hina just couldn't stop crying.

"Is it a bad thing to make an effort?" Eve's voice was shaken. "Am I not supposed to have dreams...?"

Hina didn't know much about dreams and stuff like that, but that must have hit Eve hard. She was the youngest of all Pastel✽Palettes members, after all.

"None of your hard work has gone to waste, Aya-san!" said Eve as she clenched her hand in determination. "You've worked so hard! It wasn't all for nothing!" But her last words betrayed her. "...Was it?"

"I don't know... I just don't know anymore…" Aya sobbed. "I wonder how dreams really do come true…"

"Aya-san…" said Eve and Maya.

The studio's room suddenly opened. Their manager, Miyagi, entered the room and said, "Everyone, I have something for—Maruyama-san, what happened?"

Aya quickly wiped her tears. "N-nothing! Honest!"

Miyagi approached Aya. "Is the training stresses you out?" She asked worriedly. "I'll arrange a new routine and add a couple more days off if that's the case…."

"No, please don't, Miyagi-san!" Aya shook her head. "If anything, I want to practice even more!"

"Aya… You're..." said Hina. "You're so boppidy! I never knew you're a masochist!"

Maya chuckled. "Is that supposed to be a compliment?"

"Alright…" Miyagi smiled. "But please let me know if you guys need anything, okay?"

Hina then noticed something. Miyagi held a bundle of papers with the size of banknotes.

"What's on your hand, Miyagi-san?"

"It's the tickets for the Fresh Idol Festival event." Miyagi showed the front side of the ticket. "I believe Shirasagi-san had informed you guys of it?"

"Welp, kinda." Hina raised her shoulders.

"We secured free tickets for everyone." Miyagi distributed the tickets evenly. "Five tickets for each member. You can invite your family and friends to cheer you on!"

"Wait, there's one ticket left on your hand," said Hina.

"Oh, it's Shirasagi-san's. Said she only needed four tickets," Miyagi answered. "Anyone want an extra?"

Hina was the first to raise her hand.


	13. Clear Skies After the Rain

**Chapter 13**

**Clear Skies After the Rain**

* * *

Hina sat on her room's carpeted floor and dried her wet hair with a towel. She glanced at six concert tickets laid on the coffee table before her. The girl originally planned to give the tickets for her parents, Sayo, and a couple of friends. But she forgot that her parents had booked a holiday ticket on the day of the show way before this.

So that left Sayo for tonight….

Hina rubbed her wet hair as she pondered. They never speak to each other since the fight where Sayo found out about Pastel✽Palettes' fraud performance. She wondered how Sayo would react to her invitation. The girl shook her head. No use playing guessing games now. She should charge head-on.

"Onee-chan, I want to give—"

Hina received a sharp glare from Sayo as soon as she entered the neighboring room. Her older twin was practicing guitar as always.

Sayo averted her eyes from Hina and focused on her navy blue guitar again. "Don't you understand the word 'knock'?"

"Sorry…" said Hina weakly.

"What do you want?"

"I…" Hina hesitated for a moment before she walked to Sayo and handed the ticket. "PasuPare's going to have another gig… It won't be the same as before! We're going to sing and play our instruments for real!"

Sayo glanced at the ticket, which was still on Hina's hand.

"Can you come, Onee-chan?"

Sayo didn't say a word.

Hina fidgeted. This situation was so dang awkward.

Sayo eventually took the ticket, yet after she read the details written on the paper she handed it back. "My band is scheduled to perform on the same day."

Hina's shoulders declined. It turned out none of her family members was able to see the gig. But... Was it?

"Um… What time is your gig?" Hina asked. "Mine's starts rather late in the afternoon, you know~"

"That's none of your business." Sayo strummed her guitar. "I want to practice. Just get out already."

Hina sighed. Knowing fully well that Sayo couldn't come, she still put the ticket on her sister's study desk anyway. The younger Hikawa left the room afterward. As Hina closed the door, she hoped there would be a miracle, somehow.

»↠ ≈ ≈ ↞«

"Lisa-chi, Kaoru-kun, come see our gig!"

Hina encountered her two classmates in the courtyard of Haneoka Girls' High School. A number of students from various grades were also there; either approaching the school building or just chilling around. The latter group immediately gossiped about Hina's said gig, talking about whether it would be another fraud.

"Wow, that's great, Hina!" said Lisa as she took the ticket.

Kaoru did the same but returned the ticket almost immediately. "Don't you worry kitten." She winked. "I shall come without fail."

Hina was dumbfounded at Kaoru's contradicting statement and action. "But, the ticket…" she said. "You can't enter the venue without it."

"Oh, please accept my sincerest apologies for bewildering you!" Kaoru gasped. She took out an identical ticket from her wallet and said, "I already own the ticket. That's the reason I return it to you."

"Whoa, I never knew you like idols!" exclaimed Hina.

Although it was surprising, Hina could immediately picture Kaoru waving lightsticks in the crowd of idol _otaku_. Maybe she would wear a certain idol group's _happi_ coat along with a headband with her best girl's name written on it.

"Aah, maybe so." Kaoru waved her hands. "Especially when your dearest longtime friend is an idol herself."

"Wait, what?" Hina asked. "Who?"

"Chisato Shirasagi, of course." Kaoru smiled warmly. "She was the one who gave me the ticket this morning."

Hina gawked. "Say what?"

Kaoru turned to the brunette beside her. "Lisa, how about going to Hina's concert together?"

"...Wait, let me calculate the travel time between venues."

"Oh, right…" Hina sighed. "Onee-chan said Roselia has a gig too, though she didn't specify the time."

"It's 1 PM." Lisa rubbed her chin. "Mm… If I rush there right after the event ends, I think I'll manage…."

"Really?!" Hina's eyes sparkled in excitement. The top student then whispered to Lisa, "Hey, think you can drag Onee-chan?"

Lisa looked at Hina in silence for a while before she whispered back, "...Say, Hina. Is there something you don't tell me about you guys?"

"Uh, welp…" Hina fidgeted. She shook her head and abruptly changed the topic. "Oh! Hey, do you know where Afterglow usually hangs around?"

"Moca and the others?" said Lisa. "I'm sure they hang out on the rooftop during lunch and after school."

Hina raised her thumb. Lisa's question nearly got her. Luckily, the vice class representative of 2-A didn't pry about Sayo any further, either during classes or lunchtime.

After today's classes were finished, Hina went to the rooftop. As the second-year student stepped on the flight of stairs, she could hear someone singing, accompanied by guitars and bass.

_When I want to give it a form,_

_I'm always insecure_

_Making up a half-assed color_

_Stomping my feet in frustration_

"That's Ran-chan's voice for sure~"

Hina found the whole Afterglow gang on the rooftop, sitting in a circle. Ran and Moca held guitars, while Himari was on bass. Tomoe and Tsugumi, whose instruments were too big to be carried around, were doing air drum and air keyboard.

_Suddenly I see the red sky_

_The pain I deliver from my eyes_

_I remembered that day_

Hina tiptoed to her underclassmen's spot.

"I realized it's like usual, your smile beside me—" Ran looked up. "—Hina-san?! Since when you're there?" Her cheeks turned red; hands stopped playing the chords.

Moca wore a teasing smile. "Oho~ Ran's edgy song-composing secret is revealed to the outside world at last~"

"...Moca, shut up." Ran spoke with a stern voice. She eyed at Hina and crossed her arms. "So? What business do you have? For your information, we're not just playing band here, unlike a certain instrument-miming bunch."

"R-ran-chan!" Tsugumi stuttered in panic.

"That's kinda harsh…" Himari added. The pink-haired girl then smiled apologetically to Hina.

Ran's words stung a bit, yet Hina had no right to be upset. It was an undeniable truth and what her band did was so wrong, after all.

"No prob~" Hina grinned. She took out her remaining tickets and exclaimed, "In fact, I want to invite you guys to our concert! It's on the 27th!"

"Still want to trick people?" Ran frowned. "You guys haven't learned a lesson?"

Hina shook her head. "We're going to perform for real now~" She raised a thumb. "No trickeries involved! Honest!"

"Wow, for real?" asked Tomoe eagerly. "Man… Now I'm curious!"

Ran sighed. "That's a nice gesture of you, but…" She paused for a bit. "Why invite us?"

"Mm…" Hina rubbed her neck. "As my way to say sorry for offending you guys?"

"Oh, well…" Ran raised her shoulders. "Suit yourself, then."

Hina handed the tickets to the gang and apologized that there were only four tickets. A plot twist then happened: Tsugumi turned out to be Eve's friend and she said that Eve was going to give her a ticket later. First Chisato and Kaoru, now Eve and Tsugumi. The world sure was small….

»↠ ≈ ≈ ↞«

"Hey, there! Please buy the tickets for our next gig!" Hina smiled brightly as she stretched her right arm that held two tickets. "Buy one get one free!"

"That's a bargain!" Eve gasped in surprise. "I'll buy two, please!"

"Since when it became buy one get one, though?" Maya chuckled.

"We've done this self-selling ticket thingy for a while now and we can't even sell ten tickets." Hina pouted. "Maybe we need some kind of offer to bait people to buy..."

Hina, Eve, and Maya were taking a break at their agency's lounge room after today's ticket-selling routine. Hina and Eve, who didn't have anything to do, were practicing some sales techniques, while Maya was fiddling with her tablet.

Five days ago Aya proposed an idea to sell the tickets of Fresh Idol Festival Vol. 8 themselves in front of the station entrance. Said that it was an attempt to show people that the band was still alive and kicking. Their effort was poorly received, though. Most people snickered at them, saying that they were just clowning around and didn't know when to quit their idol delusion.

As for the sold tickets… Sadly, people who bought them didn't even know about idols, let alone Pastel✽Palettes. Hina had a hunch that they only did so out of compassion, which put her bandmates in a somber mood.

Hina looked outside of the window. "The rain hasn't stopped…" She said. "I wonder how Aya-chan is out there."

Eve touched the window. "I hope she takes shelter somewhere."

"I should've accompanied her," Hina said. "It's been so long since I ran around, drenched from the rain!"

"Oh, like meditating under the waterfall?" Eve asked.

Maya suddenly shouted, making both Hina and Eve turn around then approach the spectacled girl.

"Look at this, Hina-san, Eve-san!"

Maya showed her tablet to Hina and Eve. Hina's green eyes widened as she saw a tweet that featured a video of Aya and Chisato. The said post had only been around for thirty minutes but it already garnered thousands of likes, retweets, as well as comments.

┏━━━━•❃°•°❀°•°❃•━━━━┓

TOKO KRGY TOKO1216 · 4:48 PM

I was lining up at this boba place when I saw Chisato Shirasagi and Aya Maruyama from PasuPare, selling concert tickets in a downpour!

I thought the band had split up after that PastelFails, TBH!

┗━━━━•❃°•°❀°•°❃•━━━━┛

"Way to go, Aya-chan!" exclaimed Hina, yet her excitement soon turned into confusion. "...But since when Chisato-chan's there?"

Maya and Eve looked at each other with the same bewilderment. They did meet Chisato when they just got back from the station. They told about Aya who insisted on continuing selling the tickets despite the weather. The actress soon left, saying that she had another appointment.

The trio then read the comments section. It was split into two. Sure, there were a lot of backlashes from Pastel✽Palettes' haters, but people who appreciate the effort also popped up here and there.

Hina glanced at the window again. "Oh, the rain's stopped!" She walked to the door and said, "I'm going to fetch them—WHOA! Hey, Aya-chan, Chisato-chan!"

Aya and Chisato were a mess; soaked from head to toe.

"Aya-san, Chisato-san!" called Maya. "We're blowing up online!"

"What?" asked Aya confusedly. "What's happening now?"

The band members circled around Maya and read through the comments.

_I had no idea...! Are they gonna be back out there tomorrow? I might go buy a few._

_It looks like the Lip✽Syncers are turning things around..._

Hina soon spotted a comment that specifically praised Aya. She pointed at the screen and said, "Hey, look at this one, Aya-chan!"

_Aya-chan has always been a real hard worker, ever since she was a trainee. It's so nice to see her back to her old self again._

"This one, too!"

_If anyone knows how to turn around bad fortune with sheer dedication, it's our Aya-chan!_

"The fans can see how hard you are working, Aya-san!" Eve hugged the vocalist. "It really was all worth it!"

"All my… Hard work…" said Aya. Her voice was muffled by Eve's shoulder.

Maya turned to the two and added, "Your fighting spirit really reached their hearts!"

"Yes! Your bushido spirit is so strong—Aya-san? Are you crying?" Eve asked. She let Aya go and said, "S-sorry! Did I hug you too tight?"

Aya giggled as she wiped her tears. "No, silly! It's just… I'm so moved by their words—achoo!"

"Oh, no!" Eve gasped. "Have you caught a cold?"

Chisato left the group and walked toward the pantry, located at the far corner of the lounge. Hina followed suit and caught the long-haired girl sneezing, which made her giggled and teased the bandmate.

Hina leaned her back to the doorway. "So why the sudden change of heart? I thought you don't believe in effort and such?" She asked. "I'm really interested, you know~"

Chisato didn't reply at once. The blonde-haired girl opened the drawers one by one. Looking for towels, Hina guessed, so she joined the search at the opposite corner.

"I was just worried about Aya-chan," said Chisato after the long pause. "That's all."

"Huh, really?" said Hina, unconvinced. "And… How was she?"

Chisato was the first to find the towels. She took two and closed the drawer.

"She was how she always is… Charging head-first without thinking," said Chisato as she rubbed her wet hair with one of the towels. The blonde-haired girl sighed. "What did she think? Drenching herself in the middle of rain? This is no time to catch a cold."

"Still... You joined Aya-chan in the end, right?" asked Hina. "That makes you guys birds of a feather~" She grinned. "Same ol' idiots!"

"Idiots, huh…" Chisato murmured. "Maybe her enthusiasm got me, after all."

"Eh? What did you say just now?"

Chisato shook her head. "Just talking to myself."

"But welp~ Aya-chan isn't you, and you're not her, either!" Hina grinned. "That's what makes other people so interesting!"

"...Sure." Chisato handed the dry towel to Hina. "Give this to Aya-chan, would you? I have to get going."

"Wait, Chisato-chan!"

The actress waved good-bye and left the room.

Hina crossed her arms. Chisato still felt distant, somehow... But at least she and Aya were on good terms now, thanks to the ticket-selling in the rain drama. The girl hoped things would get even better for the band as the days passed.

»↠ ≈ ≈ ↞«

**A/N: **The song Ran performed on the rooftop was 'True color', a piece that she composed in Afterglow's Band Story 1.


	14. Keep Calm and Eat Away

**Chapter 14**

**Keep Calm and Eat Away**

* * *

Hina extended her hands; each carried a box of chilled boxed lunch. "Hamburger steak or beef croquette?"

A convenience store employee held her waist. "Hina-senpai entrusts her fate to Moca-chan, it seems." She wore a smug smile. "I must tread very, very, carefully because it might affect Hina-senpai's guitar-playing later." Moca did a praying pose and stared into the distance with teary eyes. "Ooh, God of Beef, please give Moca-chan your guidance~"

Hina laughed. "Yeah, you'd better choose right!" The girl cleared her throat before resuming, "O mortal, the fate of humanity rests on your shoulders!"

Hina's parents were away for a holiday, while Sayo left the first thing in the morning. It was a bummer that she couldn't at least eat breakfast together with her sister. Didn't want to have breakfast all by herself, Hina went to the convenience store instead. Luckily, Moca was on shift this morning.

Moca squinted her eyes at the lunch boxes. She stopped blinking for a while before declaring, "Hamburger steak!"

Hina glanced at the losing set. "I wanna eat the croquette too, but my stomach can't handle double portions of rice..."

The situation was dilemmatic. It had been quite long since Hina ate lunch sets from a convenience store. Her allowance got cut because electric guitars cost a lot of money and she was known to get bored rather quickly in doing stuff. But then, just yesterday her parents went for a two-week holiday so they left the twins some money. And that made Hina want to eat anything that she couldn't afford during these past months.

Hina put the beef croquette lunch set back to the open-display fridge with heavy heart, then proceeded to the register where Moca was stationed. The part-timer then whispered that Hina could always buy beef croquettes from Kitazawa Meat Shop nearby, as it was cheaper and way yummier than a convenience-store-bought one.

"Hey, you guys can come to the concert later, right?"

"You bet~," said Moca. "Ran couldn't sleep a wink like a kid thinking of a long-awaited holiday~"

Hina giggled at her underclassman's joke. She couldn't imagine a cool person like Ran behaving adorkable like that.

"Moca-chan' gonna be so busy today~" The underclassman put the lunch box into the microwave and began monologuing. "Working part-time in the morning, choosing buns at Yamabuki Bakery, going to Lisa-san's gig, then hopping to idols' concert…" She looked down. "I can feel my battery's drained already~"

"Wait, did you just say 'Lisa-chi's gig'?"

Moca nodded. "Hi-chan and Tomo-chin's coming too~"

Hina envied Moca and the others. She wanted to see Roselia's performance so badly, but Pastel✽Palettes had to do a dress rehearsal at the exact same time. The girl originally wanted to ask Kaoru to do her a favor, but alas the school prince must visit her horse that was having labor or something.

The microwave then went ding; so did Hina's brain. Moca took the hamburger steak set and gave it to Hina. As the idol received the box, she leaned forward and asked:

"Hey, can you do me a favor? Pretty please…?"

»↠ ≈ ≈ ↞«

Hina opened the door to the agency's lounge and found all of her bandmates there. Chisato was on the phone near the entrance; she smiled at Hina as she spoke with whoever that was on the other end. Meanwhile, Aya was sitting on the sofa with Ayumi, the leader of their senior idol group. At the other end of the room, Eve and Maya were snacking mini-sized cakes with a blissful expression at the bar table.

Hina walked toward Eve and Maya who didn't seem to be occupied with anything except sweets. Ayumi waved at Hina as she talked about performing tips, but Aya didn't seem to realize Hina was there (she was muttering and taking notes with a very serious expression).

"Wow, looks boppidy!"

There was a luxury-looking box of confectionery on the bar table. It contained a platter of bite-sized cakes in assorted colors and shapes; tiramisu, cheesecake, red velvet, brownie, fruit tart, and many more.

"Right? It's from Ayumi-san!" said Eve.

Hina's eyes sparkled in delight. Although all Pastel✽Palettes did was tarnishing the other artists in their agency, Ayumi was so kind and generous to them. Hina smiled at Aya who was still busy taking notes. She could already imagine how Aya would be like in the future if their band managed to have a successful comeback this evening.

Maya pointed at a couple of cakes. "I recommend these ones, Hina-san!"

"Thank goodness you've arrived just in time."

Chisato's voice stopped Hina from taking the desserts.

"I know we still have a few minutes before we leave for the venue, but make sure to come earlier next time, alright?"

Hina rubbed her head. "Ehe, sorry! I had a slight detour~"

"Don't be." Chisato smiled. "Was there a sudden business?" she asked out of curiosity.

Since the dramatic ticket-selling in the rain, Chisato had become much closer to the rest of the group. The actress usually only showed up in music lessons taught by professional instructors, yet in these past few weeks, she participated in their extra training as well (Eve was overcome by joy and hugged her when she first came). Chisato also offered advice on various stuff. And whenever the management people messed up, she was the one who represented the girls and spoke up to them.

"Welp, the food was too boppin' to miss out~" Hina grinned. "I ate a hamburger steak lunch set, beef croquette, melon bun, mochi, crepe, and choco-mint ice cream!"

The bassist's smile wavered. "I… I see… I never know you can eat that much," she said. "Is your stomach fine, by the way?"

"Mm…" Hina squeezed her belly. "My pants feel tighter?"

Chisato facepalmed, which confused Hina. The guitarist resumed the snacking plan, but her hand was stopped abruptly by her bandmate.

"Hina-chan, I believe you had more than enough brunch." Chisato's lips formed yet another smile, but her eyes said otherwise.

Chisato was still the same old Chisato. She often got into friendly arguments with Aya, which usually resolved within minutes. The girl also scolded Hina from time to time for behaving inappropriately as an idol (what were the standards anyway?). To sum it up, Chisato Shirasagi was like the mom of the group while Hina Hikawa could be considered as the youngest troublemaking child.

"I have a separate stomach for sweets~"

Hina grinned, showing her white teeth. Despite her love for sweets, she has a perfect set of teeth that could easily pass as a model for toothpaste commercials. Her parents were especially concerned about the twins' dental care because the twins were so crazy about sweets ever since they passed from mother's milk and baby porridge.

"What do I do with you…" Chisato massaged her temple. "Don't come crying if your dress were torn later."

Hina raised her thumb and announced, "I wear nice panties today; don't you worry!"

Eve and Maya choked on cakes. The two coughed and reached for water immediately.

Chisato let out a dry laugh. "Let us have a nice chat over tea later, Hina-chan."

Hina then realized something was slightly off with Eve and Maya, compared to the ever-normal Chisato.

"Is it just me or you guys really have panda eyes today?"

Maya laughed awkwardly. "D-does it shows that plainly?"

"Dead obvious~"

"I couldn't sleep a wink…" Eve breathed a sigh.

"I know, right," said Maya. "Our future's at stake here. If we fail again, I can't even imagine how people will see us…"

"How about you, Chisato-chan?"

"I sleep just fine." Chisato smiled. "It's during times like this that we should have plenty of good rest," she said to the pandas of the day.

"That's a pro for you!" Hina grinned. "Welp, I also sleep like a log."

The manager of Pastel✽Palettes entered the lounge and told the girls to prepare as they would depart in five minutes. Before she left the room, Miyagi informed them to wait for the van in the lobby.

"Miyagi-san seemed kind of awkward today..." Eve commented.

Maya said, "Given what happened two days before, I guess it's understandable that Miyagi-san acted that way—can I have that carrot cake again?"

Hina raised her chin up left and stared downright. "You made this decision to help her perform without issue, and in doing so only created a giant problem for her." She said coldly. "Is this some sort of joke?"

"Huh?" Aya turned her head to the pantry. "What are you talking about?"

"Nothing~" answered Hina.

Aya resumed her talk with Ayumi.

"To see someone mimicking that line is kind of embarrassing..." Chisato's cheeks went pink. "But it's not Miyagi-san's fault, actually." She shook her head. "It was the higher-ups who issued orders."

Hina took a red velvet cake. "Still, you expressed your disappointment on her~"

"I can't just barge into the management's office, am I?" Chisato chuckled.

Eve wiped her mouth with a tissue and averted her gaze to Aya. "It's unfair that we got to play our instrument for real this time, while Aya-san must lip-sync again."

Maya added, "I understand their concern, but…."

"Those management people never even see our training." Hina pouted. "How could they know whether Aya-chan is ready or not?"

Chisato looked at Aya who listened to her more senior idol so eagerly. "I think Aya-chan still wants to sing on the stage using her real voice." She smiled tenderly. "She's just too stubborn to give up her years of hard work."

»↠ ≈ ≈ ↞«

"Hey, aren't they Pastel✽Fails?"

"I thought people call them Lip✽Syncers, hahaha!"

"They have the nerve to show their faces again after all _that_?"

Hina and the rest of Pastel✽Palettes members followed their manager to the band's dressing room. A couple of girls from other idol groups were whispering around or throwing mockeries out loud. She wanted to talk back to them so badly, but Chisato—as if she was able to predict this turn of events—warned the girls beforehand. "Just bear with it and remain silent," she said.

"How come they managed to secure a place in this event, anyway? Their debut was an epic fail!"

"The power of money, I guess."

"Which agency are they from again?"

"...What? Same as Marmalade?"

"I feel sorry for them for having Lip✽Syncers as juniors."

It was school all over again. Hina thought she wouldn't hear nasty remarks outside of school, but of course, there would be more… This event was a wolf's den where fellow idol groups—which hated them, of course—gathered in one place.

The dress rehearsal went smoothly, except for another round of booing. A couple of girls stopped their friends for crossing the line—possibly the leaders of respective idol groups—and apologized on their behalf.

"Idol groups are supposed to be friendly with one another…" Aya said weakly as soon as they got back to the dressing room.

Maya's shoulders declined. "That's kind of disheartening."

"Welp, I get kinda used to this stuff already." Hina shrugged. "People at school even spread unrelated rumors… They say I cheat during exams and such."

Maya looked at Hina sympathetically. Being a student from the same school, she surely knew how far the girls badmouthed the top student. Hina once asked how Maya fared, but she simply said: "Not as bad as yours, really." Being a popular student might lead to a severe backlash, the younger Hikawa twin thought.

The girls then proceeded to their final stage preparation: hairstyling, applying makeup, and changing into their stage costume. Hina didn't know much about makeup and such, to be honest. Fortunately, the girls were aided by professional makeup artists and hairstylists (Eve and Maya's panda eyes were covered by makeup). A couple of agency staff also helped them in wearing their pastel-colored dresses.

Chisato looked at Hina's appearance, specifically around the waist area. She observed it in silence before muttering, "It might hold until the show's over."

Hina touched her stomach. "Feels kinda tight…"

"I wonder who ate so excessively this morning." Chisato wore a teasing smile.

"Shirasagi-san, can you come here for a sec'?" asked one of the staff.

Hina checked her phone as Chisato left. Her pair of green eyes widened when she opened the LINE messenger app. Moca sent her a video. From the thumbnail, she was positive that it was the recording of what she requested this morning.

»↠ ≈ ≈ ↞«

**Author's Notes**

Long time no see (again)! First of all, I'm sorry for the old readers who might receive false updates last week. It was because I divided a couple of old chapters into two parts (so I need to slip two or three 'new-but-old' chapters in the process).

PasuPare's re-debut event will consist of three or four chapters, AND are connected with my other series "Daily Lives of Boppin' 2-A". Thus, the updates for these two series will be simultaneous in one day. Be sure to check Boppin' 2-A as well!


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